When The Light Flickers On

3:30 a.m. Good morning. How are you?
Wait a moment. Let me adjust the light. There. Can you see me?
Good. I want to make sure my light shines brightly.
What? Yeah. I’m okay.
But it’s not like I’ve been here before.
Have you? Been here, I mean.
It seems like a second sight. A flickering of understanding.
Suddenly, I see with a dawning clarity. The light bulb’s on!
It’s like the truth’s been a decade or longer in coming.
The brighter the light? The further our reach!

Imagine with me a conversation in which you hear only one side. It’s easy to take it out of context and apply your insight. You think one thing, but the truth of the matter is that it’s something totally different.

Yesterday was stressful for a lot of reasons. Stress naps. Twice. It’s like someone turned the light switch off for 15 minutes each. I woke up. Recharged. Somewhat. But my mind was frazzled. Anything I touched that was not geared to recovery was fraught with error. Mid-afternoon, I set everything to the side and slumped into my chair.

We’ve had workers in our house for several weeks. Our house has been in an uproar for several months with stuff packed and moved to the garage, and only slowly are we undoing the boxes.

Between the two projects, it’s been about 12 workers coming and going, doing their assigned tasks, and I’ve been anchored here. Questions? I’ve got answers. Watch their method of work. I did. And learned. Could I do what they did? Not nearly as good, says I. That’s why they are here!

You don’t know how tiring it is to host this many comings and goings to your house when you’ve been just two for a really long time. At the same time, life, work, church, and other responsibilities keep marching like a river around your rock, sitting in the middle of a narrow river.

Maybe you do. Maybe for you, it’s different. I’m an introvert and love my solitude. But I loved getting to know these guys. There’s a reason for this thought. I’ve made some connections. Isn’t that what we’re here for? Flicker. The brighter the light, the further the reach.

I sat down to write this morning, and for some reason, I reimaged the conversation between a greater and lesser demon in C.S. Lewis’s “Screwtape Letters.” It happened during the height of WWII as letters were penned between the demons and published in the newspaper weekly. During tragedy, Lewis wrote this fictional concept of the elder teaching the younger how to tempt a soul away from God.

The Cliff Notes say:

• From his first letter, Screwtape tells Wormwood that it is his job to keep the patient from thinking.
  • Lewis’s message is clear—anyone who thinks critically about reality and religion will come to understand the truth of Christianity.
    • Thus, the devils try to keep humans fixated on the physical reality before them, keeping their minds occupied with distractions to keep them from thinking about the truth of “the Enemy.”

From over 80 years ago, the message is still true today. It’s easy to get distracted and focus on the physical world around us. All the while, the Light is flickering to “on” and is in our reach to comprehend. The brighter the light, the further the reach.

Here’s the key to my opening. This letter-writing campaign was from Screwtape’s side of the story alone. You never hear the other side of the story. Only Screwtape weighs in on the supposed conversation had with a nephew, Wormwood. It’s a one-sided letter (book.)

When did my light flicker on? About 3:30 this morning. Once on, I could not return to sleep. I tossed around and finally got up. Sleep is gone. My mind is racing. It’s like I’m seeing what I’ve been missing. Flicker.

The brighter the light, the further the reach.

Let my light shine… Okay, Jesus, I will.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV)

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