Broken Lights

My roommate is an eleven-year-old.

As roommates go, we’re pretty compatible. I mean, there’s the whole mom and son thing for sure, but there’s actually much more that we have in common besides our DNA.

We both like music, computers, and to watch anyone who can beat Bobby Flay.

And surprisingly, neither one of us would complain if there was grilled salmon involved with every meal for the rest of our lives.

There’s something else we have in common that I hesitate to mention, because we’re not particularly proud of it.

We’re both afraid of the dark.

He’s afraid of the dark in his room.

I’m afraid of the dark in this world.

The Dark

It’s a valid fear, the dark thing. Things can look scarier in the dark. Scarier than they should.

Sweet little wide-eyed plastic dolls, mass-produced by the millions, become gremlins out for my jugular in the dark.

Loose soccer balls are booby traps, looking to sprain me in the dark.

Computer monitors become state-of-the-art hidden cameras seeking to spy on me, and hoodies hung on the back of the door are hungry Nike monsters awaiting my demise.

Then, daylight comes. And all is well.

The Darkness

Dark rooms aren’t hard to find in today’s world.

If you’re fresh out of young adolescent bedrooms with broken night lights, there’s a lot more darkness out there.

And frankly, it’s a pretty scary scene.

Modern-day men brimming with hate, violently protesting the existence of those with a different skin color.

Politicians drunk with power.

Tyrannical leaders fueled by fury.

Corruption rife among classrooms, corporations and clergy.

Sickness. Disease. Deception. Peril. Hatred. Unspeakable acts. Sin. Darkness. So much darkness.

So, so many broken night lights out there. It’s hard to see. It breaks my heart.

It’s so easy to feel afraid.

But even in the deepest darkness, I have hope.

For I’m joined to an unbreakable night light.

And when things seem their darkest, I know I must adjust my view to His because those things in the dark seem scarier than they should.

The Light

Here are a few of my favorite light fixtures:

Psalm 27:1 — The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 199:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 3:3 – But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head.

Psalm 147:11 – The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.