Musings on “Light”

I am a word person.

Always was. As a child, I was a voracious reader and started writing in the eighth grade. In fact, my very first story won a prize then. It was called “The Lonely Heart.” All I remember is the title, that it was about a cat, and it won a prize.

As an adult, I was in the publishing field for 34 years as an editor, author (11 books, countless articles), and publishing coach. I won other literary prizes.

I continue to write a lot: my personal “morning pages,” my blogs, my various journals.

As a person in love with words, there’s one particular word I love the most, at least right now: light.

When I studied photography, I was enraptured by light and how it could be captured on film.

And I simply must have sunlight to stay healthy, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.

My favorite Healing Code Truth Focus Statement is, “The life-giving light of the Lord Jesus Christ shines in all the darkness, and brings complete healing, peace, and right relationships with God, self, and others.”

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that every week I encourage you to pray that God would “shine his life-giving light into this dark world, to expose and thwart evil, reveal truth, and guide our feet in the paths of peace.”

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson

And I’m always encouraging you to look for the ways God is answering that prayer, in your own life and the world, for instance by keeping a gifts journal or in how you read the news.

(I think it is one of his favorite prayers to answer, because I’m always praying it, and to date, I can’t think of a single time when he hasn’t answered it in one way or another.)

If you have been praying the prayer for God to shine his light on your life, I’d love to know what results you have seen. Feel free to share here on the blog, or in an email.

As I’ve been praying for God to shine into all aspects of my life, another meaning of the word emerged: light as the opposite of heavy.

I want a lighter life.

Photo by Phạm Chung

So now I’m praying about how to let go of anything that isn’t serving me—mental, physical, emotional, spiritual clutter.

I’m realizing that to truly align with my divine design, I need to let God prune all that isn’t bearing fruit. While a part of me resists that out of fear of letting go, I am forging on with the process.

I asked God what areas I need to focus on decluttering first.

The answer came swiftly: mental clutter, and paper clutter. Starting with the files in my office.

All the courses I bought and haven’t finished, all the health summits I bought and never finished—I am seeing a pattern that is not pretty. A pattern of adding more to my life, and why? What was I in search of? Answers? Guidance? The ideal? Perfection?

Photo by Daniel Lincoln

A quote I never forgot from author Dr. Francis Schaeffer is, “If you demand perfection or nothing, you will always end up with nothing.”

Asking God to shine light on areas of my life that aren’t aligned with his dream for my life doesn’t always yield comfortable results. But they are good results.

I’m finding that the more I can let go of, especially if it’s not aligned with who I am and what my life is now, the lighter I feel.

Light.

Shine your light, God.

And show us how you want to lighten our load.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will  give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I  am gentle  and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.”

–Matthew 11:28-29