Let the Sun Shine

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

And so, the last big weekend of the summer is upon us.

Personally, I struggle with this time of year, despite the forecasted summerlike temperatures for northern Virginia this weekend. It’s all about the light. We’ve already lost nearly an hour in the morning and nearly an hour in the evening from the peak light of June 21 (which, I am sure is no coincidence, also happens to be my birthday). I don’t do as well as the dark time lengthens. I find it more difficult to get up and go to the day job, more difficult to motivate myself to go to the gym when I get home, more difficult to get stuff done in the evenings I don’t work out. It doesn’t help that I know it’s only going to get worse and worse until December 21 or so rolls around. By comparison, I’m a chirpy bird from about April through July, up even before that early crack of dawn, whipping through to-do lists like nobody’s business. I work at remembering those times and that energy to keep going as we lose more and more light.

Our faith lives can fall prey to similar circumstances. When we are living in the light and, to paraphrase Paul in 1 Thessalonians, behaving in a God-pleasing manner, it’s easier to keep going down that narrow path and to say no to the temptations that beset us. But when darkness begins to inch its way into our souls, we often change directions… ever so slightly at first, often in ways that aren’t readily apparent. We cut corners on our prayer lives or our service opportunities or our general conduct. And slowly but surely, the light can become all but extinguished.

The difference between the sunrise-sunset calendar and God’s love is huge, however. While we have no control over how much sunlight we receive in a given day, God’s Light is always there for the asking. We just have to be willing to accept that Light… and do our best to live in it.