Lessons from Life

Light Pollution

We Live in the country about 20 miles from the nearest city with a population of 100,000 When the skies are clear, we have quite a spectacular view of the stars Yet when we recently visited north­eastern Ontario, I was amazed at the incredible majesty of the night skies We saw probably twice as many stars as we have seen in the skies at our home.

When I mentioned this to a brother who is an amateur astronomer, he showed me a fascinating map of North America It was a “light pollution” map Sure enough, on this map I could see there is very little light pollution m northeastern Ontario, while the skies over my mid-western home are full of light pollution from several large mid-western cities Even though I don’t actually live near a large city, my view of the night sky is impaired by the light pollution from those cities.

The concept of “light pollution” is an interesting one, since light is usually a positive concept, whereas pollution is a negative one In this case, however, the polluting light is generated by man which interferes with our ability to perceive the light created by God The skies, which would normally shine forth with the glorious lights of God, are “polluted” by man’s light.

Do we allow spiritual “light pollution” m our lives? We know that the scriptures use the concept of light to represent truth and wisdom Do we allow the “wisdom” of man to “pollute” the wisdom of God? Is our ability to perceive God’s truth and wisdom hindered by the effect of worldly wisdom in our lives? I believe we may all too often accept the “wisdom” of this world without considering whether this “wisdom” is in line with God’s teachings.

As I gazed at the skies from my backyard, I was under the misconception I had an accurate and complete view of the lights of the heavens – as complete as one can have with the naked eye It wasn’t until my eyes were opened, so to speak, in Ontario that I realized my perception of God’s light had been impaired.

In like manner, we may think we have an accurate comprehension of God’s wisdom, when in fact our understanding is impaired It is only through a careful examination of scripture that we will come to a more perfect understanding So many today are impaired m their ability to perceive the light of God Could we also be guilty of such error? If we never stop to examine our concepts and practices in the light of scripture, then we certainly may be.

The exhortation to us all is to examine our own lives, seeking out the “light pollution” of the world which may have crept m and replacing it with the light of the Lord Only through constant self-examination and eradication of worldly influences can we hope to see the true glory of the Lord “face to face”.

What a difference a moment can make! I was standing in front of Ginger’s trough wielding a sledge hammer in my attempt to break the thick ice on top of her water. The next minute, my right foot suddenly broke through the new ice that had formed on top of the spot where I was standing. I threw my weight to the left to catch my balance, when my left foot slipped and crumpled under me as I fell, breaking my leg.

Now I am hobbling along with a walker, sporting a bright pink cast and pondering how quickly a life can be changed.

Reflecting on this accident brings many lessons to mind, so many I don’t even know where to start. I could write a year’s worth of lessons from this; here are some of the ideas which have crossed my mind.

  • The frailty of our existence and how in one instant our lives can dramati­cally change.
  • How the whole body interacts and how each part is truly dependent on the other. Damage to one part throws the whole body off kilter, often causing the other parts to work too hard, putting too much stress on the whole.
  • We must learn not to rely on something or some circumstance just be­cause it looks substantial.
  • The thin layer of snow meant what couldn’t be seen was more dangerous than what was visible to the eye.
  • We need to be grateful for what we have every day.
  • We need this type of situation to remind us of our dependency on others who care.
  • Recognizing dependency is a humbling process.
  • We learn to have more compassion on others who have problems.
  • We learn patience; there is no way to hurry the healing process.
  • We quickly realize the blessing of being physically fit when we can go to the bathroom when needed, prepare food, get a drink when we want one, take a real shower, etc.
  • Seeing from a medical book how the bones heal left me in awe of the Father’s wonders.

All said, in practical and spiritual lessons, this broken leg is a bonanza: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:17).