Thursday, October 7, 2010

WAITING FOR DAYBREAK


This morning I sat in my truck waiting for daybreak, so I could start mowing.  Facing the east, I could see just a sliver of the white light reflecting off the moon.   It was the narrowest crescent moon I had ever observed.  Within the next ten minutes, everything had changed.   The brilliant rays of the sun had illuminated the entire sky.  Through the black silhouette of trees, I could see hues of the softest yellows mixing with orange, white and pink.  All of a sudden, that moon which had once dominated the entire black sky was now scarcely visible.  A new day had begun.

A fifteen year old student, at another local high school; had twice been a pupil in my wife’s sixth grade class.   His Mom had sung with us in the church choir before the boy was even born.   Sadly last week, his father had found the young man dead from a drug overdose.  On Tuesday at the packed funeral service, many of his classmates and best friends sat at the front of the church, coming face to face with the end result poor decisions.

Two weeks ago none of those students expected to be spending their Tuesday afternoon looking into a casket.   The young man had been in drug rehab before and knew of the horror of detox.  He knew that sobriety was possible.  Yet, for whatever reasons we will never know, this young man could not face life without a drug high.  

Life at any age is hard.   All of us need relief from the pressures and difficulties of life.   Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, to partake of the living water that will continually satisfy.   What stops us from reminding each other of the availability of living water that is always there for us to drink?   In these times of calamity, depression among all sectors and in every age group is soaring.   Untreated or undertreated depression progresses.   We each have a responsibility to encourage each other and do our best to get those in trouble the help they need.   This might often be a word of support, a listening ear, a positive word, and if necessary counseling or even confinement. 

Like the crescent moon, this fifteen year old student had only a sliver of light to help him find his way in the world that had become a dark place for him.   As Christians, Jesus has filled each of us with light.  Pray with me that we will not be afraid or ashamed to let our light flood the lives of those in need.   Lord, help us to encourage those around us that we can each live in the beauty of daybreak if we share our light!

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