Soft White Light

There is something about soft white light.  A few evenings ago, I was putting up laundry back in my bedroom while my little ones were playing quietly.  The train rumbled by, the tracks parallel to the farm land behind our house.  It was dusk, as you can see in the picture, and dusk always holds me captive.  You can tell how the day went in our home by how things are at dusk.  Peaceful day=happiness inside us and our home at dusk.  Hectic day=mad dash at everyone and everything at dusk.  (Just being honest!)  The day I took the picture had been a pretty peaceful day.  As the train rolled, I stopped to watch it.  I listened to the noise it made, the clattering of steel on steel, both eerie and comforting.  I reached for my phone to attempt to take a picture of the last few cars rolling away.  This is what I got though- what you see now (and no, you can't even see the long black train).  I looked at the picture right after, and it conjured up a story of my life.  A story of soft white light. 

My mom was purging a couple months ago, and in doing so, decided to get rid of a lamp she's had my whole life.  She was going to give it to my aunt, but I asked if I could have it for sentimental and practical reasons both, and she let me!  When I brought it to my house, I immediately put it on the bedside table beside my bed.  I had wanted a lamp for years (literally), but had never bought one because of trying to save $.  When I plugged it in, the light that came from it was comforting.  I told my husband I brought some "home" with me when I brought the lamp here.  He didn't know what I meant.  I snapped it off and took a look at the bulb:  60V soft white light.  The bulbs mom uses are soft white light bulbs!  (Sidenote:  For years, I had been trying to figure out what's so different about my parents' home...the ambience there!)  It's the kind of light that has a calming effect, despite the jarring sound of the train rumbling along (and this applies to life, you know?...Light (Jesus)= Peace in the Darkness (World).  I wrote a little one liner for our Christmas card this year:  "As lights flicker on a tree, may The Spirit illuminate us for all the World to see."  I definitely hope my family and I have a "soft white light effect" on those around us, too, this Christmas season and always.

Peter 2:9
"But you are...a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."

WONDERFUL SOFT WHITE LIGHT.



And finally:
Thanks, mom, for creating a tranquil place for me my whole life.  Thanks for caring about light bulbs.  Thanks for teaching me all about the importance of The One True Light.  These things intertwine so much that I couldn't talk about one without the other.  A world of gratitude for that very truth.