It Only Takes a Little Light – Devotion 26

It only takes a little light and a bit of shade to change everything.  A glimmer of light can cast out the darkness and awaken the world.   The sun pouring through trees can cast shadows that enliven our imaginations.  Watching creation at just the right moment can open our eyes to the delights of joy unseen without blinding us to overexposure.

As I drive home from the office, depending on the time I leave, the sun can be directly at eye level.  I happen to be just the right height to catch every bit of sun that is sparkling bright.  I am tall enough to see over the dashboard but too short for the visor to do any good.  This can be challenging when the sunspots dull my efforts to see the road.  On the days when I work later, I do not get the same effect.  The sun has set just enough to reach the tops of the trees.  It is still high enough for me to see and for the earth to be lit bright.  But it is not so high that it reaches me in my height-challenged state.  The trees provide a buffer.  The sun can glimmer through, but not at full strength.  They provide just enough reprieve that the beauty is magnified.  And for just a moment, I am glad I worked longer.  But I am even more glad that the trees are just the right height for the moment, even if I am not.

We don’t often see the value of buffers.  I might miss how the trees provide just the right amount of shade to keep me from being blinded if I had not experienced the full sun.  The trees seem to stand taller and are even more magnificent when they are shielding me from full exposure.  They are not obstacles to be conquered or overcome, they are gifts to enable me to see clearly.

What buffers are in your life that you are viewing as obstacles that may actually shield you from being blinded?  What do you have that seems to get in your way of full view but in reality is keeping you focused on what is good and right and pure?  What trees are blooming at just the right time so they cast shadows in ways that help you see God?

Focus Scripture:

Isaiah 4:5-6

⁵ Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed over all the glory there will be a canopy. ⁶ It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery