Light

Last night we had a power outage around 12:30 am. Of course, we were sleeping and knew nothing about this until we heard the screaming. I've previously described how Delia operates at either a 1 or a 10 most days. When she's happy, she's the most joy-filled little gal you ever saw. When she's scared, there is insane panic. This is what happened last night when she rolled over and realized her night light was out. I heard, "I CAN'T SEE!!! (sob and wail) IT'S TOO DAAAARK!!!" I quickly ran to her room using my voice to calm her and then hugged her. And yes, it was pitch-black dark. We couldn't see each other, but I tried assure her of my presence with her other senses. Then Dave came in with the flashlight and beamed light around her room, convincing her that she was still in a familiar place and everything was okay. She was shaking when I got her tucked back in. We don't know for sure, but heard something about a power line down from a car crash. Much of the neighborhood shared our middle of the night blackout.

Dave, being the wonderful pastor that he is, made a great connection when he told Delia's story during his children's message this morning. He showed the kids the flashlight and talked about God's presence in our lives-- how we can always trust God to hold us when we're scared and illuminate our darkness with his love-filled light. It was a simple, but important, reminder for me and my family as we face anxiety and uncertainty over upcoming events.

Though the service was planned long before this lights-out episode occurred and children's message was told, we even sang the song "Shine On Us" this morning.

Lord, let Your light, light of Your face shine on us,
Lord, let Your light, light of Your face shine on us,
that we, may be saved, that we, may have life
to find our way in the darkest night
Let your light, shine on us.

Don't you love those moments when God lines everything up? Don't you love those moments when our kids teach us stuff?