WHEN LIGHTHOUSES SHINE BRIGHTEST

What’s on your mind these days? Personally, I can’t stop thinking about lighthouses. Maybe it’s because I’m craving the ocean and traveling is not an option right now, or maybe it’s because it’s the one-year birthday of my novel, The Lighthouse Baby, 🙂 or maybe it’s just that in this current fog I long to see a literal beacon of hope shining bright. Whatever the reason, my heart has been drawn to the lifesaving lighthouse and how brightly it shines…

“Lighthouses are endlessly suggestive signifiers of both human isolation and our ultimate connectedness to each other.” Virginia Woolf

Let’s be honest, we are hearing so much about the importance of both “isolation” and “connectedness” in this pandemic period, the words almost fall flat. But Virginia is onto something in this little quote. A lighthouse stands stoic and solo, a solitary soldier keeping watch. And yet that connection to others in the form of a ray of light is literally lifesaving.

And when does that lighthouse shine brightest?

In the darkness.
During the storm.
Through the fog.

If ever there was darkness, storms, and fog in our world, it’s surely now. We all look for Light. We all search for Truth…

“Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!” Psalm 43:3

As our Lighthouse, God draws us to Himself as He sends out light to lead us home. Ever steadfast and sure in the most savage of storms, God is our refuge, our place of comfort and hope.

“Pour into me the brightness of your daybreak! Pour into me your rays of revelation-truth!

Let them comfort and gently lead me onto the shining path, showing the way into your burning presence, into your many sanctuaries of holiness.” Psalm 43:3

Yes to all the rays of revelation-truth!

And we, in turn, get to be a lighthouse for others. Jesus tells us “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.” We get to reflect the light and love of Jesus in all the dark places.

To the fearful, the grieving, the lonely, the lost. Just because we are floating in a deep sea of unknown in this season and can’t do church or volunteering or serving in our usual ways, that doesn’t mean we flick off our light and peace-out. Lights shine even more brightly in the darkness.

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.” D.L. Moody

In our communities, our neighbourhoods, our families and friend groups—has there ever been a greater opportunity to love and to serve one another well? To be a listening ear or an encouraging voice? To point to the Ultimate Rescuer.

Friend, if you are struggling to keep your head above water and desperately need hope, haven, home—God is our Lighthouse. He sees you and He loves you. Rock and Redeemer, He offers a lit path to peace and rest.

Oh, that we may shine as lighthouses in this darkness, during this storm, through this fog—ever brighter for Him today!

Take care and stay safe,

P.S. I would love you to check out my novel, The Lighthouse Baby. It’s a gripping story of hope (featuring a beloved lighthouse, of course) and is celebrating its first birthday! All the links are HERE.

“Life on the run is all Bella King knows. But after letting down her guard and opening her heart in a charming small town along the Oregon Coast, a chilling revelation forces her to make desperate decisions. Local architect, Adam Lexington, longs to protect Bella and secure their future together, but is hiding a tragic secret of his own.

The draw of a lighthouse, the dream of a family, and the determination to unlock the shocking reality of Bella’s heartbreaking past lead them both into grave danger. Will the truth set Bella free before it’s too late?”