I Can See Clearly Now

This past week we have made two very important and amazing discoveries.  We discovered that we can slide the vent over the stove out a foot or so, which triggers a light above the stove.  I love to have plenty of light when I cook, and that was a real find for me.

The other find was at the center.  There are overhead lights, but they are just not enough.  When it is dark outside, I always feel like I need to have more light inside.  One night one of the YSA men came in and cooked something.  He flipped a switch back almost behind the refrigerator, and voila! under-the-cabinets-lights illuminated the countertops!!!!  SK and I stood there in stunned silence just looking.

Light is an interesting thing.  You go along thinking you have enough light, and then someone turns it up and notch.  It is amazing how much better you can see.  And the loss of light can be upsetting...to say the least.  As I look back over these past months, I understand why (in October) several of the YSAs lamented the coming of winter.  I think they are fine with the cold and even the snow, but they know they are nearing the months of winter darkness.

We have had glorious sunshine for several days, and people are out in droves soaking it up.  Most everyone is still in coats, but the  oh-so-welcome sunlight makes it pleasant to be out.  The way the light plays over the surfaces of the city is exhilarating.  It defines, delineates and clarifies everything it touches.

Yesterday we were coming out of a little shop and saw coming along the street toward us a set of elders.  They had dark coats on over their suits, but you could see the white shirts and ties, and name badges displayed prominently on the front of their coats.  They were the picture of well-pressed, well-groomed attractive young men.

We stopped to visit with them. Both were well over 6 feet tall.  One was fair and the other had black hair and striking blue eyes...both so handsome!  Each one absolutely sparkled with happiness.  I have regretted not taking the phone out and snapping their pictures to send home to their mothers.  I would have included a note with each:  "We met your son today in Copenhagen....he was out street-contacting and on his way to a teaching appointment.  He is so happy!...and he is doing what the Lord has sent him to do.  You must be so proud of him."

If someone had done that for me when Derek was on a mission, I would have cherished the message and the picture.....except I would have worried why he was in Copenhagen instead of Barcelona.  If someone had done that when Lia was in Italy, I would have sung her praises to the sky!  I will not let an opportunity like that pass me by again....I promise.

As I think of that experience, I think of how those two young men looked in the clear crisp afternoon light.  Their hair shone, their faces beamed, their eyes sparkled....even their clothes seemed to reflect the sunlight.

C.S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun – not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else."

Maybe winters in England are like winters in Denmark.....the return of the sun is a glorious thing.