The Lighthouse

I just spent a couple of days on the Southern Oregon/Northern California coast, a brief respite from my troubles and woes.

It was a chance to rest and to perhaps get a different perspective on things just by changing location…an all expenses paid trip to a lovely place.

My perspective was indeed changed when I saw that I had a view of the lighthouse pictured above out my hotel window.

Lighthouses have come to symbolize Jesus, the light of the world, navigating our weary souls to that safe, eternal, harbor.

Life is full of hidden rocks, riptides, and winds determined to shipwreck us on our way home.

My soul often feels as if it’s floundering on the rocks, so this was a welcome sign to me.

Walking down to the beach I caught sight of a sea bird precariously bobbing on the waves…a wave would overtake it and it would disappear for a moment,then it would pop back above the surface floating above the fury…over and over again.

The bird and I were kin, I thought…

My spirit was soaking in all this divine encouragement…but it seemed to escape the notice of the people that lived and worked there.

The staff of the hotel went though the motions as if it were painful to be awake, let alone in the service industry.

We noticed this everywhere we went…it was as if something awful had happened and the whole town was depressed.

It was the weather…or the economy…or the ravages of the drug trade…boredom…the explanations went on.

I think the real problem was that they can’t see the lighthouse anymore.

It’s there, it never moves, the light still shines, but people are blinded to it because it has become a common thing to them.

It happens to all of us at one time or another.

Life is hard…and when the waves of affliction keep on pounding us we forget that He’s there…when we can’t see the hand of providence we stumble about as if in a fog.

He’s still there.

The light is still on, guiding you home.

Find the light…and follow it to your souls rest.