At First Light.

I vividly remember the slightly pungent aroma of smoke at dawn; the kind Swahili man - Joseph - carrying water with a gleaming smile wearing tires made into shoes; coming face to face with a Baboon troop petrified as it's leader approached us in warning; and I remember the sounds of the night; however, it was the light streaming across the plains at dusk that will forever capture my dreams.

The August light on the plains of East Africa is quite dramatic. Though my photographs are cherished memories of the six weeks I spent in Kenya in the summer of 2000 they only minimally represent her majesty. I fell in love with her light!!

In the Masai Mara as the sun descends slowly into the western sky you are left watching a complex dance of color and shadows. A barren, harsh land is transformed by the change in light! Gleaming rays of sun swirl across the fields, turning the once dry, monotonous grassland into swaying fields of gold. Acacia trees armed with spikes and biting ants cast angelic shadows that gracefully pirouette to and fro capturing your gaze with their movements. She takes her time at the edge of the plain.

You ache for more, knowing that the light of the sun is not only spectacular but fleeting and with it's disappearance - fear. The night approaches quickly. Darkness. And while that darkness is intriguing, it is not a place to be without light. Darkness harbors enemies. Prey flee to find shelter and safety while predators of the dark creep out to hunt. We retreat from the Savannah as well - for without light we are not safe, we are afraid.

Are you afraid? I am sometimes. Are you without Hope and Light?

The Bible is flooded with examples of how Jesus is our light:

John 12:36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."

Psa. 18:28  "For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness."

Psa. 4:6 "Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD."

Psa. 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear;  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Light among these beautiful creatures on the great rift valley.

This is our ornithology class.

John 8:12 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

It is reassuring to know that He is our light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Oh how brilliant the light of our Savior will be when he returns. He will make everything beautiful. He will transform our harsh, spiky, dry lives into a beautiful dance. He will not descend into the West, but remain with us! Our sin is darkness. I try to teach my little one this and as I hear it I am reminded again that I must too turn from my own sinfulness, which is so pervasive in my heart. I am daily thankful for the light of the gospel in my life. It's so helpful when fighting fear to know that we have the one true Light of the world interceding before our God on His throne. I urge you to see your own sin, see it's ugliness, and turn to Jesus who forgives mercifully and will one day return as our only source of LIGHT making that ugliness oh so BEAUTIFUL!!

Watch the light tonight at dusk and remember how great your God of lights truly is! :)

update: I know you all wanted to see me bald. Well. here is it! I laugh every time I walk by a mirror because I forget I have no hair and then: WOW!!! SO FUNNY!!! (i wasn't laughing when I shaved it off, but now I can laugh). Plus it made a great GI JANE costume!