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Week 2
"The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:1 NKJ
The weather report stated: “Five additional minutes of light today.” This was February in Cordova, Alaska, where I spent three months as an ABC Volunteer in Mission. I had not seen such an item on a weather page before, but I immediately recognized how important it was in Alaska where there are many long, dark days. People needed the hope that days would soon be brighter and lighter, and those five minutes a day were uplifting! So many things in our lives appear to be less threatening or discouraging when examined in the light of day.
In Psalm 27, the writer attributes to the Lord light, salvation, and strength! What better characteristics do we need as we go through the still dark days of Lent, awaiting the Crucifixion, and then the Resurrection and Light of the World?
I recently read the book Blizzard 1949 by Roy V. Alleman. During that winter many people struggled desperately through several winter storms; thousands of cattle were lost; railroads and highways shut down for long periods of time; food supplies were dropped from the air. The following portion* seemed like a wonderful parable about Jesus Christ:
“We’re lost,” said Gene. “We don’t know where we are or where the house is. Let’s turn the horses loose and crawl into that haystack.”
“No, we’d just freeze to death,” objected Pauline.
They huddled in the cart, trying to find directions or landmarks. There was a slight lull in the blizzard. “Hey, isn’t that a light out there, “yelled Pauline. “I can see something swaying in the wind. Let’s head for it!”
They kept following that flickering light as the horses struggled more and more in the deepening snow. The horses, with their homing instinct still intact, seemed to want to go that way. They came to a gate which they recognized as one near the house.
Going through it, they continued toward the light. And, there it was, hanging on the windmill near their house: the new gas lantern! Apparently, Lauren hung it there to guide them home. They turned the horses into the corral and struggled to the house where they literally fell inside, exhausted. Lauren had a big fire going in the old cook stove, the only heat source in the house.
“Did the lantern help you find you way?” asked Lauren.
”You’d better believe it did. It saved our lives,” said Pauline. “We were lost before we saw that light!”
During these days of Lent, look for the LIGHT OF THE WORLD! Look for ways that you might introduce others to the LIGHT: a friendly phone call to a shut-in, a gift of food to a new mother, an invitation to a Bible study, a smile for a child, a prayer for a grieving friend. Be light to someone else this week! You may help them find the WAY.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to look for the Light all around us. Affirm in us that You are our light, salvation, and strength. Then let us share with those around us so that the days of Lent might be days of light! In the name of Your Son who is the Light of the World, Amen.
*Roy V. Alleman, Blizzard 1949 (St. Louis, MO: Patrice Press, 1991), 26-27.
Mary M. Burman
laywoman
First Baptist Church
Laramie, WY
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