True light

Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Lent

My help comes from the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:2

I am about to delete the news email when a headline calls me up short, “Don’t bother turning off the lights when you leave a room.” My father drilled into us exactly the opposite. He would even walk through a room I was in and turn off the lights on me because the audacity of lights left on was more noticeable to him than me quietly reading in a corner. The article goes on tell me that my father’s command, while once important in an age of incandescent lightbulbs, is no longer valid.

My father’s insistence on this practice was both the result of his having been born in the depression and his sense of stewardship. He was careful about resources. He believed saving pennies made a difference. And he was clear that all that we have comes from God.

I learned respect for the environment from him, and the practice of tithing as a spiritual discipline. And I believe that my father knew in the depth of his soul that Christ is the true light, and that true help comes from God. 

Perhaps my father’s lightbulb practice no longer holds merit. Yet the faithfulness I absorbed from him continues to light my way.