Patches of Godlight*

Last week Saturday the city lay shrouded in fog. Dense and grey at sunrise, it deepened through the day rather than burning off. The mist seemed to cling to every surface, so even your own hands looked a bit fuzzy and indistinct. The fog became its own world, one of hushed sounds and blurred outlines.

Yet every so often, for just a second, a portion of the fog-blanket would lift, revealing what had been hidden. For that one moment, the edges sharpened, revealing the unseen.

We often walk through life in a fog, unaware of the presence of God among us. We know He is working; we simply don't always see it. Yet like the fog, God will every so often clear the mist around us, giving us a crystal clear glimpse of His hand in the world. These are the patches of Godlight, the lifting of the veil of our dulled senses so we can see His involvement in our lives.

For one, it may be the evidence of growing maturity in a college student son's prayers; for another, it is the sudden realization of the purpose of a painful trial. We see His hand delaying our travels, preventing us from becoming victims in the accident on the road ahead.

Always, these patches of Godlight illumine His character, His grace, His faithfulness and mercy. We realize anew that this is not a god who is aloof and unreachable, but One who is here, concerned with and working in our everyday lives. We just need to open our eyes to His light.

*"...Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are "patches of godlight" in the woods of experience." C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer