Monday, January 28, 2013

{Back Towards Light}


I found these words on a photo about finding courage to let go of what you can't change.

I have decided this will be a theme for me and my creed for this year. 

{Back Towards Light}


dark·ness  

/ˈdärknis/
Noun
  1. The partial or total absence of light

light  

/līt/
Noun
1. The natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible
2. Lamp, fire, illumination

Have you ever been totally in the dark - as to where you literally can't see your hand in front of you? There is a small mix of fear and quiet until you can recognize anything, an object or a glimmer of light.
Darkness promotes fear. But light provides calm.

Darkness tells us that nothing is certain, no path is ahead. Our journey is lost.
Light reminds us that something is sure, a path IS ahead and a journey is found.

We have all undergone seasons of darkness - in our lives - where we felt unsure of the step in front of us. Lost and fearful, dejected and rejected. Alone. Unsure.
What a process.. in finding our way back towards light.

Light is all things positive, and pure. Light is truth and love. Light exposes all. Nothing is hidden in the light.
Darkness is all things negative, and corrupt. Darkness is lies and hate. Darkness hides all.


Ephesians 5:13
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. 

And one day every knee will bow and His light will expose all. 
Nothing will be hidden at the throne of God.


I want positive.
I want pure.
I want truth.
I want love.
I want light.

God is light. In nature it is light that promotes growth and all things good. Ancient Egyptians built an entire culture and belief system on light.. and their god Ra, the sun. The aten. While they believed in polytheistic worship - I believe monotheistically, that one God created the sun which provides life and represents light and heat. Two life-sustaining components.

When people die they see a bright light. Is it a coincidence that this is accounted for time and time again? "He that overcomes shall be clothed in a raiment of light." Rev. 3:5 God is light where death/darkness hath lost its sting. 

If He is light, He is our light. Our illumination, our fire, our lamp.

2 Samuel 22:29 You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 18:28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Psalm 43:3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 97:11  Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.
Psalm 104:1-3 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Luke 11:33-35 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
John 9:5  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Light is life. 
Darkness, death.

So while my life's mantra is to live in light and not darkness... 180 degrees... I take this into my profession as well. 

What I do, as a photographer requires light. 
Without light, I cannot produce an image. I cannot record an image. Light is the catalyst.

Light is the catalyst in all that is living. It is the representation of all that is eternal. But our lives will be marked with shadow and darkness. Clouds will come and night as well. 

But... clouds pass and morning draws. And if He is Light... Rejoice in the face of hardship, for He has overcome the world. He has overcome the darkness.

Romans 13:12  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

When we've realized we are surrounded by darkness, it is time to look for that glimmer of light, of hope. Once we find it, we find faith to press on. Our journey does not continue by us being immobile and lost in the dark. 

Back towards light.