Have you ever had a power failure and been caught without a flashlight?
You're sitting in the living room watching television and all of a sudden, the storm rolling outside sends a blast of lightning hurling into an electrical transformer causing an earth-shaking BANG... and, within seconds, your world is black.
You know your house.. like the back of your hand. You've lived there for a long time. Even if you were cluttered, like me, someone would ask you for something and you would know exactly where to go to find it.... but suddenly.. in the dark... you've lost your bearings. You don't know what is where or which way is up.
You know the flashlight is down in the basement but you have to make your way downstairs to get it. This is going to involve a lot of patience.. and talent. You slowly get up from the couch and feel your way around your furniture, groping at the furniture and reaching for walls.. hoping and praying that your shin won't meet your coffee table in the most intimate of encounters.
Have you ever noticed the silence in a house when there's a power failure??? I mean.. the little whirls, clicks and hums of the appliances.. computer.. television and refrigerator... the sounds that we have learned to tune out in time.. are suddenly obsolete. You can hear your own breathing and your heartbeat... freaky.
Anyway.. so there you are... slinking your way through your house (which suddenly seems a LOT bigger).. working your way, slowly, towards the basement steps. You have the voice in your head... you know the one... "I swear, if the lights come back on when I hit that bottom step, someone's going to get it!!!'
Finally, after what seems like an eternity and not without a few close encounters with walls, misplaced objects and very heavy furniture, you make your way down to the basement. Funny... you don't remember your house being so dark. You work your way over to the toolbox, open it up and.. voila.... there is the flashlight.. right where you knew it would be.
You turn the flashlight on and Eureka!!!! Light!!!! Not a lot of light... just that one short beam of light that you have to move to focus on what you want to see.. but it's light... something that was completely gone only moments before. Your eyes are adjusting to the semi-darkness and your house is becoming familiar to you once more.... and you have hope. You don't feel disoriented anymore...like a complete stranger in your own surroundings.
You make your way back upstairs more assuredly, following the beam of light and return to sit on the sofa. You're hopeful that the power will be restored but you are feeling less lost and afraid with the little light that you have in the meantime. You can settle.. for the time being.
We live in a dark world. I never thought I'd read myself saying this but we aren't living in the world I remember growing up in. When I was younger, we didn't have to lock our doors and windows. Our neighbours spoke to us. People smiled and held the doors open for others. There was meaningless banter.. about the weather.. work.. family.. etc... but it wasn't all doom and gloom and it wasn't rushed conversation. People took time to sit and have a cup of coffee with a friend.. lend an ear... or a hand.. in times of need. My brother and sister and I would go outside when the sun came up and play until the sun went down. We didn't spend hours in front of video games, televisions, or computers. We lived.
Nowadays.. we don't trust anybody. It's every person for him/herself. It's making decisions based on how the outcome will affect 'me' in a positive or beneficial way. There are conditions attached to everything.. .and this includes in churches. (I've had Pastors throw their hands in the air in disgust and discouragement with me). It speaks volumes, ladies and gentlemen. We are in trouble.
As I rush through one day to make my way to another, stand impatiently in line.. or push my way through crowds to be 'the first one' to get my hands on the latest bargains... every now and again... someone will catch my attention. That person will be the only calm one in the crowd. The one whose lips aren't pursed tightly but turned up at the corners...yes... SMILING
When these people catch my attention, the first thing I notice is their eyes. There is something special about their eyes. When I look in their eyes, I don't see death or doom and gloom. I see happiness, love and hope. I seeLIGHT. I so long to be like that. I long to be the smiling, calm one that catches the attention of another hurried, angry soul.
I want my soul to be healed and then I want my eyes to reflect the light in my soul. I want to be that one, straight beam in someone's dark world, giving them hope and inspiration... shining on the obstacles standing in their way and helping them to move forward.
I encourage everyone to have the same desire. BE the light. Don't wait for light to happen. You may be waiting for a very long time. If you are the light, maybe.. just maybe... your light will spread and this dark world will become good and clear again.
Just my two cents.
~~ Peace, LOVE and Happiness ~~
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