Growing The Light

Proverbs 4:18 -- "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day."

Sunrise at Mickler  by: Kelly Babb Dalton

Standing with my toes deep in the wet sand I can barely see the foam come in on waves that seem lazy and unmotivated. The beach stands deserted at this hour. It's the reason I trudge out here in the full blown dark while the rest of the beach combers lie fast asleep in their beds.  There is no traffic. No smell of sunscreen wafting in on salty breezes. Brightly colored plastic toys don't litter the beach and there is no din of laughing voices. It's the surf. The dark. My husband. And the entire beach all to ourselves. 

If we're lucky, the flout player will be there with his little dog - and now and then, the gentle sound of his well-worn wind instrument can barely be heard over the waves that fall down on dark sand. While his dog chases ghost crabs, he sits in a beat-up lawn chair, filling the night with beautiful sound.

Steven and I sit down on an old blanket and look out over the dark. We count shooting stars. Without the light pollution of our busy neighborhood, we can usually catch a few on any given night. It never fails to amaze me that at almost any moment, were we to simply look up into the starry night sky for more than a few fleeting seconds - we could see those other-worldly clumps of rock and ice light up as they hit the earth's atmosphere. I am reminded of the power of our Creator. I am in awe of the precious gifts He grants us daily.

Like when the moon rises on a low tide. 

In silence, Steven and I look out over the water and watch the moon. Bright red with reflection and shadow, the pock-marked orb creeps up over the horizon. It's as though the coast holds it's breath in anticipation -- awaiting the moment our celestial satellite takes it's place on the night watch, while the sun is warming up the other side of the world. The sand begins to glow, ever so slightly - where there was previously nothing but shadow.

As the minutes tick by, we can see where our feet fall without the use of a flashlight. The higher the moon climbs across the vast ink overhead, the more detail we can make out on the sand. We can see the sand fleas try to bury themselves at the water line and the sandpipers that try to catch them. We can see the new sea turtle nests roped off by our patrol team. We can see fins break the surface where the dolphins play at catching fish. 

Following Jesus and growing in God's will is much like baring witness to the rise of a full moon. The shaky baby steps we take in the beginning are timid when compared to the confident leaps we learn to take as we become stronger in our faith. The thing that strikes me about Proverbs 4:18 is the lack of a few words. For example, the verse doesn't say - "but the UNDERSTANDING of the righteous" -- it says " but the PATH of the righteous." In other words, I don't have to wait until I understand God's full desire for my life before I begin to live it. In fact, it's best if I DON'T do that. I will not reach full understanding until I get to meet my Savior face to face. That being the case, I cling to the growth of light in this verse. It starts out like dawn. If you've ever tracked the sun through the hours of a day you know that at noon there are really no shadows. The sun is straight overhead and the light is at it's brightest. The earth gradually absorbs the sun's heat. The day doesn't start out bright and hot. It happens over time. 

Our Christian steps may seem feeble at first. Only slightly lit - like the first hues of sunshine that break through at dawn. But notice, at dawn even the tiny flicker of light makes a huge difference in what we can see. Before the moon began to rise on the beach at Mickler's Landing we couldn't even see our toes without the use of a flashlight. But even barely peeking out above the line of the horizon the moon granted us the sight of a little more detail in the surf. We didn't wait for the moon to rise completely to start enjoying the view before us. WE should not wait to allow our light to shine for Christ. Even a single spark can set an entire forest to blaze. Just like tiny trickles of light that dance across a new morning sky - a small amount of light can offer up a great deal. 

We are asked to shine. With whatever light we have .... we let it shine. In time, it will grow - it will warm - it will spread.