The Porch
..........at night

I love the way Christmas lights light up our porch. I wish I could have them up all year round. The glow of a nearby city obscures the view of heavenly lights but is in itself a beautiful site. Farther away from city lights, where it is dark enough to see them, the stars never cease to amaze me. They hold me captive. Meteor showers are the best as are the northern lights as they undulate across the sky. Our porch is my favorite place to view this beauty.

I love to sit there in the dark observing this vast, sparkling display which mesmerizes me. Each time I see them it is as if it is the first time. Other views from our porch are wonderful, the snows, lightning, hail, rain. I love to see the deer, cranes, hawks and many other birds fly around especially in the glow and encroaching darkness after the splendor of a sunset against the silhouette of the then-black mountains or as the sun seems to dip into the ocean, putting out its warmth and light. And, don't tell my husband, but I even like the light that reflects back at me from deer eyes as they munch in our orchard, trample and graze our garden. But stars are my favorite.

They remind me of the wonder of Creation. I marvel at the power of God and His love for us in that He created such beauty for our enjoyment. The scripture, "Be still and know that I am God" comes to my mind as I am still and quiet scanning the sky.

I love candle light or the glow on everyone's faces from a bonfire or fireworks.  And as we are driving at night I love the little vignettes I see inside homes all lit, warm and inviting, as we pass by. What is there about light? I, like a moth, am drawn to it. My spirit is drawn to THE Light. We are called  to be light to a dark world. The light shines best in darkness. 

Lately I have been thinking about how I appear to others. Do they see Christ's light in me? Is there a light within me that others recognize as different? Or do I have a frown or scowl on my face, am I irritated by the annoyances that are so common in stores and offices? Do I just walk past people without acknowledging with  a smile that they exist? Am I obviously upset at my children or my husband, do I murmur or make faces when something delays me? I try to be mindful of my countenance which comes directly from my heart. When I am dealing with someone who is out-of-sorts or rude do I react in kind? Yes, sometimes, I confess that I do, but I try to take unpleasantness as a challenge. This happened to me yesterday at a store. I saw the box-girl loading up all the heavy stuff in a very deep. wide box. This had happened to me last week and I hurt myself loading two such boxes into my car. So,when I noticed, after she had put two, maybe three objects into the box, I  asked politely if she would use smaller boxes. I explained why. She gave me a dirty look. When she looked at me again I smiled. She gave me a dirty look. The checker saw how irritated she was and began happily helping. When they were done I looked at her and said,"Thank you." She gave me a dirty look. I purposefully caught her eye and said it again adding, "...I really appreciate that." She pushed my cart out to the aisle. I thanked the checker who smiled back warmly. That was a challenge I lost but usually if  I persevere in being  kind and smiling at someone ("...smiling's my favorite.") I get a nice response  I prayed for this young woman----how sad to be so rude. I have had occasions where I went back into a store to apologize and ask forgiveness when I have been cranky. Altho' these incidences were their fault I had no right to respond as I did. I do respond firmly to someone if it is needful as it often was in dealing with my mother's well being during the two years before she died. But I was not rude.

Our homes, being reflections of ourselves, should have that light within and without-----leaving the porch light on literally and figuratively so your house says, "Welcome" and not "Go Away" to all who approach it.
This is done simply by making it look inviting as we talked about last blog, within your style and means.

So, enjoy the lights God has created for us. Be the light God has commanded us to be. Be like Christ who is the Light of the World. AND .....leave the porch light on (figuratively and literally) so others may be drawn to us in wonderment.

Have a wonderful Sunday!  Kathi~