Mom, Leave the Light On
“Mom, leave the light on!”
These are words that many moms hear as they say goodnight to their children while reaching to turn off the hall light.
Just as you have settled your child, and reached the threshold of their bedroom door, you hear the fateful words, “Mom, leave the light on!”
What is it about the stream of hall light that slips into a child’s bedroom through the crack of the slightly opened door? How can that small sliver of light provide strength to the timid and fire to one frozen in fear?
Light gives DIRECTION
Most kids must get out of bed six times to; use the restroom and get a drink, (repeat that process a few times), ask for a snack, need to be consoled after a bad dream, need assistance finding a lost stuffed animal, and even more complex excuses. But having that hall light on provides a clear map to the doorway of freedom and to Mom. Consider how your child’s room in the night is like this big, dark world laden with Legos on the floor where you can be impaled in the foot! There are mounds of clothes, lost homework papers, stinky socks, spiders, and maybe even a half-eaten sandwich. With the hallway light ON, your child can safely make it past the land mines of their room and find you sneaking a snack in the kitchen (lol). God’s Word is a light that leads us through the obstacles of this world with full assurance, one foot in front of the other.
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NLT)
Light provides COMFORT
Once your child has found you in the kitchen (and you try to disguise your snack with a yawn), they are met with comfort. Don’t you remember being little and feeling so much better just to be out in the LIGHT? Even if you were corrected to go back to bed, there was a sense of peace knowing everything in the house was as you left it when you were tucked in for the 15th time. As children of God, we must learn to lift our heads to the Lord. We must go to Him for help. He is our comforter and strength.
“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?” Psalm 21:1
Light is POWERFUL
Now, your child is safely back in bed, tucked in and finally feeling sleepy. Just having been out in the light and having the hall light on gives them a sense of power to sleep in peace. Even as an adult, that same sense of power helps us to push past worry, fear, and even disbelief. Because light can pierce the darkness, it has the strength to illuminate a city or create shadows on mountains. With just the right lighting, we have the power to even look younger in our pictures! Light is powerful!
“Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12
Jesus’ light lives in you. Are you shining bright for Him? Is your life illuminating that the light of Christ to provide direction, comfort, and power for others?
Go ahead, leave that hall light on!
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
