Last night as I was driving home, I saw a unique and eerily beautiful sight as I looked north into the foothills just outside of town. In the inky darkness of the mostly moonless and cloudy night I could see the soft glow of white lights at the ski resort. Normally at such a far distance I should not have been able to see the lights as I came up the valley, but this evening a thick, low cloud deck hovered only a short distance above the hills provided a perfect reflective backdrop to magnify the ski slope lights as well as elevating their brightness higher into the night sky and casting those reflections to the great distance from which I first saw them.
I could not help but immediately think of the verse in Matthew 5:14 where Jesus says “You are the light of the world” and then further describes His disciples as “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” As I thought of the past year’s events, I was struck by a parallel where Sarah and I had been shining our light in our Christian walk in very much an “ordinary way.” We did not have a large circle of ministry at the time still settling into a new city and dealing with the increasing limitations of Sarah’s health. Yet, we sought to be faithful in the witness and testimony we did have. Then as Sarah’s health crisis began in earnest and increased in intensity, God gave us a broader and broader opportunity to reflect that light. Just as the unique atmospheric conditions on this night dramatically and effectively reflected the lights of the ski slopes last night, so too had God brought about a unique circumstance in our lives to more brightly shine for His glory and reflect to a wide audience in a way beyond our normal circumstances. Thankful for every blessing He gives and the way He reminds me so faithfully along the way.