Try a different kind  of light therapy this winter by John Maust

in

“Lift your mood with light therapy” said the title of a Mayo Clinic article earlier this month.

Reading this on a gray day in January, I had to admit that a little extra light sounded good and kept reading.

The writer explained how the long, dark days of winter can sometimes send one’s spirits into a nosedive,  leading to “seasonal affective disorder,”  a kind of depression linked to changes in seasons. 

“Light therapy is one of our effective treatments,” Mayo psychologist Craig Sawchuk said. 

“You want to make sure that the light is sitting about an arm's length or so in front of you,” he said.  “You don't have to stare directly at the light, but you want to keep your eyes open.  So you could be doing things like having breakfast or a cup of coffee, watching TV, or working online," says Dr. Sawchuk.

Just keep on using light therapy into the spring, he said, or whenever your mood starts to improve.

Probably you know someone who has used light therapy.  Maybe you’ve benefitted from it yourself.

But during this wintry pandemic I wonder if perhaps we need a stronger form of light therapy.  Let’s call it “light of the world therapy.”

“I am the light of the world,” Jesus declared (John 8:12).  Indeed, “God is light; in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). 

This is no light bulb we are talking about!  Looking to Jesus, the light of the world, does way more than elevate our mood. This Light points the way to eternal life and offers daily guidance and spiritual protection, among other things.

Eternal life.  Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Also, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light…the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  

Jesus is the light who leads us from the darkness of sin and death to the light of righteousness and a right relationship with God through Him.  

Daily guidance.  In the darkness of confusion and uncertainty, when we cannot see the way ahead, let us seek God’s light on the situation through spending time with Him in prayer and daily Bible study. 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path,” the Psalmist says.  “You are my lamp, O Lord,” David sings. “The Lord turns my darkness into light” (2 Samuel 22:29).

Scripture says that “in his light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). 

Spiritual protection.  Lately I’ve been reflecting on Romans 13:12 where we are asked to “put on the armor of light.”  What a powerful image.  It reminds me of the incident in Lord of the Rings when Frodo defends himself from the evil spider Shelob by holding aloft the bottle filled with blinding light from Eärendil’s star.

But our armor of light is not found in a bottle.  Our armor, as detailed in Ephesians 6, consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit which is the word of God. 

This armor of light will protect us from Satan’s attacks and help us stand strong in Christ even when temptation, discouragement and doubt besiege us. 

We can affirm with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? (Ps. 27:1).”

Winter will be here for awhile.  It’s fine to turn on an extra light or two until blue skies return.  But what better time to spend extra minutes sitting in the light of our Lord’s presence and His Word—getting some good old-fashioned light therapy of the soul.  The effects will be noticeable. 

“Those who look to him are radiant,” Scripture says.  “Their  faces are never covered with shame.” 

March for Life Chicago 2020: Review and Illustration Charlie Stevens

in

“Go home.  You don’t belong here.”

The words penetrated the drone of the school bus as I peered through the condensation on the windows into the cold gray Chicago cityscape on January 11, 2020. 

Only an hour before, we had been in the welcoming warmth of the Commons, arranging the March for Life hats, hand warmers, snacks, and bottles of water to be gathered by the 109 attendees before boarding the chartered buses and heading downtown.  On tables in the large meeting room lay signs that had been painted at the Sanctity of Human Life Committee’s sign painting party the week before, waiting to be retrieved by their creators for display during the march.  High school and college students, singles, couples, and families collected their hats and snacks, perused the signs, and talked quietly while waiting for the event overview to begin.  Guidelines and procedures were reviewed, a prayer was said, and bus loading commenced.  Once all were present and accounted for, the buses rolled out of the parking lot and headed downtown.

Bring Illinois back to life!

Having not been on a school bus in decades, I had forgotten how noisy they were.  There were conversations taking place around us, and my daughter and I initially tried to hear and be heard, but we eventually lapsed into silence and looked out the window.  We were about three quarters of the way to our destination when I heard the voice, clear as day, telling me that we were not welcome; reminding me that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)  

Abortion: One heart stops, another heart breaks.

This was not the first sign of the opposition we faced surrounding this event.  Already that morning the bus company had called to inquire if we still planned to go downtown that day. (Well, yes… why do you ask?)  There was a situation, and they had to scramble to replace a driver for the fourth bus. Our driver was called in on his day off, and graciously agreed to drive us.  We were thankful for the Lord’s provision, and for our driver’s positive attitude, despite the inconvenience.

A person’s a person, no matter how small

When we arrived downtown, the buses let us out across from the Congress Plaza Hotel, where the march was to end, and we began our mile-long walk to the Daley Plaza where the rally was held. Our group gathered for pictures and then blended in with the crowd to listen to the speakers, who united and encouraged us with their exhortations on the theme “Life Empowers: Pro Life is Pro Woman.”  The last speaker got everyone psyched up to start the march, and the group of young people carrying the street-wide “Life is Beautiful” banner led the way down Washington Street toward Michigan Avenue.  

Save the baby humans

Across the street, those who had come to protest our stand for the lives of the unborn held their signs aloft as we passed.  The media who interviewed both sides for the news report declared them “pro-choice;” we were labelled “anti-abortion.” 

Social justice begins in the womb.

We were absorbed into a sea of people of all ages in winter coats and hats and gloves, holding up signs and phones and cameras, following the drum cadence down the street. We walked and held our signs and phones and cameras, occasionally passing or being passed by someone in a white and light blue March for Life hat. Here, a father with his high school-aged daughter followed by three middle aged men. There, a couple, each with a child strapped to their chest, walking next to an older gentleman pushing his wife’s wheelchair. Interspersed throughout were groups of young people holding signs saying, “Love Life, Choose Life” and “I am the pro-life generation.” Onlookers watched from the sidewalk, and from the windows of the office buildings that lined the street. Police officers on foot and on horseback blocked the intersections and looked on with varying degrees of interest.  We turned on Michigan Avenue and walked back to our point of origin, where the marchers collected and mingled, and we gathered and waited for our group to reassemble for the bus ride back to the church. 

Every life is precious.

I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to participate in this annual event. The next March for Life event will be January 23, 2021. Information / registration can be found by clicking here.

This photo verse art is how I processed and summarized my experience of the day; the stark reality of abortion in Illinois standing rigid and bleak against the clear but barely audible voices of a few, and against the Most High God, the giver of Life.

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:14-16

 

Marchforlifeimage-2.jpg

Holy Light in a Down-to-Earth Home

in

Jen Brewer and her husband, Jeff, went out from College Church to plant a new church, Hope Fellowship in Lombard, where Jeff is now the lead pastor. At the College Church Women’s Bible Study Christmas celebration, Jen talked about how her family shines holy light this Advent season and throughout the year.

There’s a sign in our kitchen that says, "Welcome to our crazy, fun, happy, loud home." Granted it's certainly not a complete description, but it's accurate, to one degree or another.

We are the kind of parents who have our kids dump out all their Halloween candy in the middle of the family room floor just to see the massive mounds of candy given out that year. It's just fun.

When the kids were little we often had 80s dance parties to get out all our energy at the end of a long week—and we turned up the music really loud! Today, the music is still loud on occasion and we have four girls who enjoy hearing themselves talk. We’re an all there kinda family. We’re excitable, we’re loud.

Our evening Bible times would hardly ever be described as smooth sailing. Take the night when our story of Mary and Joseph was interspersed with random discussions, wonderful insights and revelations and thoughtful questions from our youngest daughter about exactly how babies are delivered.

In the midst of the chaos, we desire that the overriding tone in our home reflects our faith in Jesus, our love for others overflowing from the hope laid up for us in heaven, the gospel, the word of truth, bearing fruit and growing, increasing knowledge, wisdom and understanding of God resulting in lives that please him, endurance, patience, joy, thankfulness and forgiveness through God's power at work within us.

These are the beautiful qualities Paul praised and prayed for the Colossian believers in his letter. And these are the beautiful qualities we want exemplified in our family, in our lives. Along with Paul's praises and prayers in the Book of Colossians, he shared loving encouragements, warnings, admonitions and instructions about how to live out the Christian faith.

And I need this help. I need all of the Word of God to help me for two reasons—so I can recognize lies and so I can respond in truth. When we studied Colossians in Women’s Bible Study, we discovered one of the main reasons Paul wrote was because the believers there were being deceived by various false teachers.

There are a myriad of ways we are influenced, and sometimes deceived, by the world—television, movies, ads, books, Pinterest, Facebook, well-meaning friends, churches, seminars and blogs that all share how to be a phenomenal (or at least, a more effective) wife, mom, grandma, sister, friend, neighbor, hostess, community member, co-worker, coordinator, communicator, caretaker, cleaner, crafter, Christian.

And many of these things are fine and helpful. But what's not helpful is when they become our highest ideals instead of God's standards ruling our lives. But there is one other influence that deceives me most. It’s my own dreamy, often unrealistic expectations that cause wrong thinking about how life ought to be or ought to go. My standards. My ideas. My ways.

Recently, there was an incident in which my girls needed correction for their relationship struggles. Since they are older, I was delighted with the opportunity to sit down and share much of what we had learned in Colossians—about what Christ did for us and how we are now to live out our Christian lives with one another.

Here's what I envisioned happening, and what I would like you to believe happened at that moment (and every moment I discipline my children).

The classical music started playing overhead....dun, dun, dunna, dun, dun, dun, dun... And the girls profusely thanked me with, "Oh, thank you, dearest mother, for so clearly and faithfully revealing our hearts to us through God's wonderful Word. Please forgive us and continue to pray for us as we live out our lives together in a manner worthy of the Lord." They hugged each other and merrily skipped out of the room together. Oh, what a delight to this mother's soul!

Recognize the lies, the lofty expectations in my head?

Here's what really happened. There was no classical music, just some barely audible mumbled apologies, some rolling of the eyes, furrowed brows, two unhappy countenances, and then the question--"Can we go now?" That's it. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect and it certainly didn't fulfill my picturesque dream.

So, I respond in truth. The reality is that just like me, my kids are sinners and are still growing in the grace of God. Like me, they are still being established in the gospel. Once again, I'm reminded that I cannot control my kids' responses or change their hearts, but I can trust God to bear fruit in all of  us—in his timing, in his ways, for his glory. 

Author Paul Tripp states, " Admit it, we’re all still a bit of a mess; that’s why we need God’s grace today as much as we needed it the first day we believed. You and I need to say it to ourselves again and again. We need to look in the mirror and make the confession as part of our morning routine. Here’s what we all need to say: 'I am not a grace graduate.' "

You and I need to come to him broken and acknowledge that we can't fix ourselves. We need to truly believe that through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus is able to forgive us and restore our relationship with God. If you've hesitated and never confessed your need for Jesus or never submitted to him as the ruler of your life, that is something you can simply do now. You will become a child of God. You will have new life in Christ.

I'm not sure if you will ever visit our home. If you do, I hope you will enjoy a warm, pleasant, peaceful atmosphere. You may not get a sense for how loud we are. You might not notice the crazy. You probably won't have the privilege of being folded into our 80s dance parties. But I do pray that you find our family rooted, established, built up and walking in the faith of Christ Jesus our Lord, abounding in joy and thanksgiving.

Softly, Softly

in

a Christmas poem by Marilee Melvin

Softly, softly,

the truth came.

(slow motion salt ocean waves rolling

spreading moving inland,

filling caves and coves and foaming white at breaker’s edge)

No one would have seen it,

No one could have heard it,  

                        But there was one bright star,                        

And angels sang.

(sunset over the ocean all at once too grand,

                                    too glorious for anything but silence;

                sunbursts into sanguine skies: purple pushes

stone silence

into hearts all human and humble)

The truth is hard to our hard hearts.

The best is yet to come:

                Word become flesh,

and dwell among us.

 

Surviving the Holidays

in

Memories linger in holiday rituals--picking out the Christmas tree, the ornaments you bought on vacation, the cookies she baked and wrapped for neighbors--and now the first Christmas without your wife or your mother or your husband or perhaps a child. You can barely discern the light of the season but you know it's there because the light shines in the darkness and the darkness doesn't overcome the light, even the darkness of grief and loss. Diane Neptune shares perspectives from GriefShare.

If you have recently lost a loved one, you are likely experiencing a jumble of emotions that you have  yet to sort out. Facing a holiday after the death of a loved one can be more difficult than your friends and family members may realize. GriefShare has provided a video which outlines some basic principles to follow to find strength, healing and tools to move forward in your daily walk through the deep pain of grief. For example:

  • Being prepared for surprising emotions that may hit over the holidays
  • What to do about traditions and other coming changes
  •  How to handle Christmas parties and invitations
  • How to survive potentially awkward moments with other people
  • Where to find comfort, strength and hope in a seemingly hopeless time

A few years ago, you probably found yourself complaining about the hectic nature of the Christmas season. There were numerous programs to sit through, countless gifts to buy and way too many parties to attend. If you even had time to think about what you wanted for Christmas, your list would have been short: fewer places to be and more money to spend.

But now that you might be wrestling with grief this season, you’d gladly take those busy times over what you’re going through now. That’s because no matter whom you have lost, the holidays are a constant reminder that he or she isn’t with you anymore. And with the holiday season lasting over a month, the pain seems to last forever.  So what’s the best advice for making it through the holidays?

Focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

While that may sound like a cliché, focusing on the true meaning of Christmas can actually be a surprising source of comfort.  It leads directly to hope and pervasive healing. Let’s look at three reasons why.

Reason 1: At Christmas, Jesus came to end all suffering.

God sees all the problems in the world, including yours. And he has promised ultimately to fix them. To do this, he sent Jesus to carry out a plan to end all suffering. At Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s entrance into the world to do that, Because of what Jesus came to do, the Bible tells us that one day there will be no more tears.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying. . . 'There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:3-5b)

We can be absolutely certain that one day, there will be no more disease, no more tragedy, no more suffering, no more death. That’s a reason for hope and celebration!

Reason 2: At Christmas, Jesus came to deal with the source of our suffering.

As part of God’s plan to fix what is wrong with the world, he’s going to do more than stop disease, famines and natural disasters; he is also going to renew people. And yes, we all need to be renewed. Why? Because the same thing that causes all the world’s problems is the same thing that causes us to be selfish, bitter, unforgiving, unfaithful and unreasonable. The Bible calls it sin. The Bible also teaches us that sin affects everything: our thinking, our relationships, our environment and our health.

In addition to creating problems in your life, your own sin is a barrier to having a relationship with God. It also prevents you from experiencing the comfort and healing that he offers you. This comfort and healing is especially important to you as you grieve. The good news is that, at Christmas, Jesus came to offer a way to remove that barrier. Here’s how he did it.

God says sin is such a serious offense that it must be punished by eternal separation from Him. But since God loved us so much, he sent Jesus to earth to live a sinless life and to take the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross. Three days later, he rose from the dead. This was the only righteous way to defeat sin and death and to pave the way for the tear-free world God has promised in the future. But knowing what Jesus came to do is not enough to experience the benefits.

Reason 3: This Christmas the gift is available to you.

Just as a Christmas present only becomes yours as you receive it, the gifts of forgiveness and a new life in Christ Jesus only become yours as you receive him by faith. God offers you this gift of a relationship with him, a relationship that allows you to experience the healing and comfort that you desperately need, and a relationship that guarantees an eternity spent with Him in the perfect, tear-free reality that He’s designing for you.

You may have worries that you do not deserve to be forgiven by God, that your sin is too “bad.”  No matter what you’ve done, you can be forgiven! His love goes beyond anything you have ever experienced. He loves you without conditions. And if you enter into a relationship with Him, He accepts you because of what Christ did for you, not because of anything you have done or ever will do.  As God's Word reminds us:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:5a)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast”. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I hope by now you can see why focusing on the true meaning of Christmas can be so comforting. At Christmas, we celebrate the gift of Jesus. His birth marks a new chapter in God’s plan to end our suffering and save us from our sin. So, if you’re discouraged during the holidays, remind yourself that the baby Jesus came to heal your heart, and this world. Because of him, one day there will be no more suffering. And even right now, in the middle of your hurt and suffering, Jesus wants to be a part of your life, comfort you and help you heal.

If this is your first Christmas without your loved one or the second, third or more, the pain of the holidays may still be very fresh for you. Our GriefShare group meets every Monday night at College Church, and we come together to share experiences of grief and turn mourning into joy. Please join us, you are always welcome.