We just returned to “Sunny California” from a trip to the Northwest. Typically known for wealth of drizzly weather, our visit was anything but. We actually had the dubious honor of visiting during a week where records were smashed all over the place. No, not the obscene, vinyl, music-laden discs of my youth, but the kinds of records that can make a meteorologists’ year. I don’t think there was any record relating to high heat that wasn’t broken.
We conducted many of our activities in the shade to escape the direct frying that was taking place, but I learned that yes, you actually can get sunburned even in the shade. Even so, the abundant sunshine was welcome in a location known to contribute to vitamin D deficiency.
We returned home to the comfort of temps in the mid-80’s. So why am I sitting in my house, surrounded by beautiful daylight, with all of the lights on in the middle of the day?
Actually, I sit here with all the lights on all day every day. Our house is positioned just-so, and there are overhangs in the front and the back of the house that block any sunlight that might want to make its way in.
And as I sit here bathed in artificial illumination, I find myself irresistably sleepy and in need of my daily nap (which I don’t actually get, I just feel the need!). Even though our days started early and ended late when we were traveling, I didn’t feel that need while we were away.
I’m beginning to think that it’s because even inside or in the shade, I got more natural light there. I get no natural light inside my home no matter how much is outside! And whether the bulbs are incandescent or fluorescent, energy efficient, full-spectrum, or otherwise, there is no substitute for the real thing. I need honest-to-goodness sunlight to keep from wilting in the shade.
The spiritual parallel isn’t lost on me. I can be surrounded by God’s ‘light’ at church, in the music I choose, the books and blogs I read, etc. But if I’m not actually spending time in His word myself, spending time in prayer and worship, letting His light into my heart, I can find myself wilting in the shade spiritually, no matter how much “artificial” illumination fills my life.
And this is the message we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
What about you? Do you live with your spiritual lights on, or do you get enough of the ‘real thing’?