Lower lights

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

--Matthew 5:14-16

A long time ago, noted preacher Dwight Moody told his congregation a story about a boat, helplessly rocking and plunging on a stormy, starless night near the Cleveland harbor. The mariners on board could see the lighthouse, but they needed to find their way through the narrow passage in the treacherous rocks that surrounded the harbor. Normally a light on the shore, aligned with the lighthouse, marked the passage to safety. But on this night, the lower lights had gone out.

Finally, the desperate captain decided they had no choice but to proceed into the harbor without the guidance of the lower lights. "With a strong hand and brave heart"—but in almost total darkness—"the old pilot turned the wheel." Tragically, he missed the channel, crashed the boat upon the rocks, and lost the lives of his sailors.

Moody then explained the lesson to be learned from his story:

The Master will take care of the great lighthouse, but He depends on us to keep the lower lights burning.

The storms of life put many around us in peril. They may long to approach the light of "our Father's mercy" but are unsure how to navigate the obstacles in their way. We all know how they feel, because each of us has been lost at sea from time to time.

Most often, God uses us to rescue them. If we can keep the light of faith burning in our hearts, if we align our light with the Light above, we can guide an exhausted mariner safely home. We can be the lower lights that "send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman [we] may rescue, [we] may save."
--Music and the Spoken Work, March 2014

Philip Paul Bliss was inspired by Rev. Moody's sermon and penned a relatively unknown hymn titled "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy."

Brightly beams our Father's mercy
From His lighthouse evermore, 
But to us He gives the keeping 
Of the lights along the shore.

Dark the night of sin has settled, 
Loud the angry billows roar; 
Eager eyes are watching, longing 
For the lights along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother! 
Some poor sailor, tempest tossed, 
Trying now to make the harbor, 
In the darkness may be lost.

Chorus: 
Let the lower lights be burning, 
Send a gleam across the wave! 
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman 
You may rescue, you may save.

Everlasting Light

Our visit to Temple Square was beautiful. During the Christmas season, we light our homes and businesses and trees and yards with lights as a way to be festive. But ultimately those lights are a symbolic reminder of the true Light who brings hope, peace, love, healing, relief.

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." Isaiah 60:19-20

The sun has power to warm and give light. But at the end of the day, darkness settles in. What if we allowed the SON to light our lives. In the darkest of nights, remember that the SON always comes up. He is on duty all night. He is our everlasting light that never fades.

These are the days of . . . 
*Pure laziness. These two weeks come close to my most favorite time of the year. Time slows. I don't have yard work calling. It really is a time to catch up on reading and projects before the new year comes bustling in.

Girls Camp, part 3

WEDNESDAY: Our theme this day was Force Field Activate; Live in the World, Not of It. Lots of fun this day. We got to take part in an activity called bubble soccer. I'd never heard of it. And man was it tougher than it looked.

Later that day when we had everyone at camp including our junior leaders (they are staying with the stake), I gave them a short devotional on light and salt, a family home evening lesson my dad gave a year ago when we were down for spring break to help Ash prepare for her baptism. I thought the message went along so well with our theme that day.

LIGHT AND SALT

For his props he had a light bulb with two wires coming out, a glass jar with water, and some ordinary table salt.

So how old is salt and does the flavor change as it ages? He passed around a salt shaker that my great-grandpa used when he would go fishing. The idea was that salt can be very old but still taste the same.

Salt is essential. It purifies. It preserves. It heals. Salt is old and will never lose its savor through age if it remains pure. It is only lost through contamination and mixture.

Blood is salty. Our tears are salty. Body cells must have salt in order to live and function. We need salt to survive. 

D&C 101:39 "When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men."

The savor of men are those who have covenanted to take on his name through baptism to stand as a light to the world. After baptism we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost who helps us be that light to the world.

[I added this quote when I gave it at girls camp: "We should not try to take ourselves or our children out of the world . . . He needs stalwart [Young Women] who live exemplary lives in the world and demonstrate that joy and fulfillment come not of the world but through the spirit and the doctrine of Jesus Christ." (Elder Ballard, Ensign, May 1989)]

Grandpa then put the two wires into the water and turned the light bulb on. Nothing happened. As he slowly added salt to the water, the light bulb got brighter and brighter.

In Matthew 5:13 "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?"
 

How does salt lose its savor? How does the light in the bulb dim? When more water was added, the salt became diluted and its ability to effectively carry an electrical current diminished causing the light the become weaker. 

[Another addition from girls camp: When we fail to let the true light, Jesus Christ, shine in us by allowing the worldly influences in, we lose our savor and the ability to be saviors to someone who may need our “super powers.”]

* * * * *

Here's some interesting things about salt:
 

The early saints were first called to settle in Kirtland, Ohio. Then they were forced to move to Missouri and eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois for a time. Ultimately they were forced again from their homes to finally settle in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

The Romans appear to have esteemed salt highly. Its army, for a time, was even paid in salt. This is the origin of the word "salary" and the expressions "worth his salt" and "earning his salt." In fact, the Latin word sal became the French word solde, meaning "pay," and has come down to us in the word "soldier." The first of the great Roman roads was the Via Salaria, the Salt Road. The Romans used to salt their greens, which is the origin of the word "salad," salted.

Be Still

One of my favorite scriptures:

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

--Psalms 46:10 

* * * * *

What do you do when the world seems full of darkness?

Fill it with light. . . . for every act of darkness, I need to do a thousand acts of light. The only way we win is by living better, by pushing back harder, by loving, and by nurturing in tiny and slightly less tiny ways and then repeating. Darkness only wins when the good people of the world stop generating light.

We will never do that. . . .

If I am part of the light, I need to commit every day to shine brighter, to love stronger. We can never. Ever. Give up.

 --Kathryn Thompson, daringyoungmom.com

* * * * *

Lo, in the silent night
A child to God is born
And all is brought again
That ere was lost or lorn.
Could but thy soul, O man, 
Become a silent night!
God would be born in thee
And set all things aright.

--Anonymous, circa 15th century

May we all become that "silent night" this season.

May we be still enough to let God be born in us to make us the bright lights He needs us to be. 

--Shawni Pothier, 71toes.com 

* * * * *

And a song that is becoming a favorite:

Be Still by The Killers

* * * * *

I've been contemplating next year and what my goal might be for the year. Life is getting busier as my kids are getting older. They are more involved which means I get to be the transportation taxi. Ten years ago my good friend Sharon who is more my mom's age with older children told me to just wait. If I thought life was busy with toddlers, just wait until they're older. At the time I couldn't fathom life being any busier. But I've discovered different stages in life have different types of busyness.

At this stage it's becoming harder for me to find time to be by myself, to experience some quiet revelatory stillness. Even the bathroom isn't off limits when you have a two-year-old and you are his only friend for the entire day. Funny, because I thought this was my life ten years ago.

(not my picture, but one that reminded me of my little Alex)
 
If I'm going to be a light that shines brighter in this world, I need God to help me know how. And for that to happen, I need to BE STILL. This just might the goal I need.