Lights Shining For Miles

I Saw the Same Two Lights for the First Time in Years

I was almost five years old when we moved to the pink house on the hill where my mother and I still live. In September, following our move, my sister was born. With my parents, maternal grandparents, and new sister, our family now totaled six. Most of the time when all six of us left our home for the evening, the front porch light and the backyard light were turned on.

 Many evenings as we returned to the Bend, my father would say, “Those two lights over there are where we live.” He usually made this comment as we exited off Highway 18. That statement impacted me, even as a child, in a couple of ways.

First, the place we lived was illuminated – it stood out several miles away. Secondly, the place we lived served as a haven for each of us in its own unique way.

As I drove home recently from Bible study one evening, for the first time since moving back to the farm, I noticed the two lights once again. As I pulled through the yard gate and closed it, I gazed into the brilliant winter sky when the thought of the continuity of faith struck me. Out of my six family members, I was the only one viewing the lights and coming into the gate of the farmhouse's yard fence. Yet the same Jesus who enabled us to have a vibrant, daily relationship with God, the creator of the universe, remained the same as He was so many years ago when the six of us returned from church. The writer of Hebrews stated the theology of the eternal constancy of the Savior when he wrote, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. What stability and steadfastness the unchanging Christ confirms in an ever-changing world! My family dynamics have changed drastically. Yet the powerful presence of the omnipotent God has not diminished at all.

Just as the two lights glow in the night from Mother’s farmhouse, so Jesus said, A city built on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 7:14). Jesus preceded that comment with You are the light of the world. Jesus said, Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Verse 16). Can I live a better legacy to honor my maternal grandparents and my father than choosing to honor the Heavenly Father with my actions and words - letting His light shine through me?

Not just my home, but all homes of believers, should serve as a haven, a place of peace and welcome to others. Our homes should be places where opinions can be exchanged and then discussed with God’s Word open to see how those ideas stack up against the gold standard of Scripture. Encouragement flows naturally from an atmosphere where God’s Word is read, repeated, and discussed. Innumerable times, my memory recalls people visiting in our home and leaving with the challenge to grow in the Lord and in the knowledge of His Word. That remains the primary intent of each day Mother and I live on Big Bend Road.

So much has changed here at the pink house on the hill. Buildings and fences that were newly constructed in the early 1960s are in dilapidated shape or have already been replaced, but the faith in Jesus taught for over a half-century in the pink house remains as vibrant, alive, and relevant as ever. Jesus promised in Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away.

Lord, empower me to allow Your light to shine through me. May Your Words flow from me enriching the time anyone spends in my presence.

Newly Replaced Pole Light in Back Yard - one 
of the lights I had seen from several miles away.