A Child of the Light
Guest Writer: Chris Schaefer
“When the day comes, we step out of the shade.
Aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it,
If only we’re brave enough to be it.”—Amanda Gorman, Last Stanza of The Hill We Climb.
“Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’”
I read those verses from John 12 during Holy Week. While I was thinking about them, the last stanza of The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman came to mind. I thought of shade. I realized we walk in the shade, in the middle between light and dark. Good and evil if you would. That shade becomes comfortable. We don’t have to have the bright light that reveals our boo-boos focused on us. Those boo-boos that we carry both inside and out reveal our brokenness. Those boo-boos that we would rather sit in the shade with than be vulnerable and allow God and others to see. So, we rest in the shade, not quite good enough for the light but not bad enough to hide in the dark. We rest in the shade, afraid of what others would say if they knew. We rest in the shade, doubting our worthiness to be loved.
But when will we believe in the light, remembering we are children of the light? Sometimes I feel like I dance in and out from shade to light with darkness nipping at my heels.
Then I reassure myself, or maybe sometimes convince myself, that I can step out of the shade. Step out into the bright lights even though it is scary. As someone who doesn’t like being vulnerable and risking the judgment and rejection of others, this is beyond risky and challenging for me. But you know, God already knows my boo-boos, and I am the one having a hard time with them.
But the day did come when I stepped out of the shade. I soon realized there was freedom in the light. Who knew??? No more hiding in the shade, even though I still have my “afraid” times. I learned when I was in the shade; I still had part of the light all along. So even if I am in the shade, that light is with me. I am good enough. I am worthy. I am loved. I believe in the light. I can be brave, for I am a child of the light!
Chris Schaefer
