Imagine, if you will, being on board a floating vessel at night and the weather becoming dicey. Clouds have rolled in and the threat of a powerful storm looms overhead. The new moon offers no visible reprieve and the lantern on board projects about 3 feet in front of the bow. You promised your loved ones you would arrive in a timely manner with the catch of the day but time just got away from you. The sense of isolation is thick as you wonder what direction will take you to a place of refuge. And, then you see it. A beam is reaching out over the bay as if the hand of God was pulling you towards a safe harbor. Relief rushes over you as you get your bearings and gather your wits. Home is a feasible goal and the warm embrace of your family is moments away.
Many a captain has faced such a dilemma, likely much worse, in the waters surrounding Door County. Loss of life was rampant until the communities constructed a beacon in 1836, the first of 12 in the county. Men had been playing with the concept of creating a light source capable of projecting for miles over the centuries. They had to construct a tower tall enough, on the right part of land and generate a massive light source that needed 24 hour tending. Then the idea of convex lenses that could manipulate the light and offer a beam that could be seen for miles came about. The act of installing such a large piece of glass was precarious at best, but it was an improvement.
Then Augustin-Jean Fresnel developed a lens made of multiple prisms, easier to install and maintain and capable of casting a beam for 20 miles. The first lens was installed in a lighthouse in 1823 and they are still in use. No better lens has been created.
The thing that fascinates me the most is the bigger picture. That guiding light concept is very real in our lives today. Few of us are in need of a Fresnel lens to direct a ship to dock, but all of us are offered such a guiding light. It warms me to think about the Guiding Light God offered us so freely.
I look back on my life and if I am completely honest with myself, God has shone the way for me from day one. Do I always choose to follow the path He is illuminating? Emphatically and embarrassingly, no. But the beam is constantly lit. The kind word of a stranger, the prodding suggestion of a parent, the contagious laughter of a friend, the sudden realization of a student, the mellow cooing of a dove, the synchronized ballet of cattails, the locomotive strength of the wind, the quiet moment in the morning, the ultimate aha of a journal passage, the sweet message of a pastor, the uplifting enthusiasm of a sibling, the bitter rejection after an interview, the surprising death of a marriage, the sorrowful loss of a loved one, the life story of a sage, the new knowledge after reading, the pleasant discovery of a gift, the vibrant vision of an artist, the poetic phrasing of a writer, the harmonic blending of a sonata, the rejuvenating effort of exercise, the curious investigation of a place... I know my list will continue to grow until my last breath. Yours is just as rich and unique.
I believe that God is everywhere and He uses everything to help us see Him and ourselves for who we really are. I spend a great deal of time alone. I recognize He is calling me out of that hibernation I consider safe. But, I have learned that when I pull myself away from the everyday and experience a journey alone, I am more observant about what He has to show me. It is during these times of exploratory solitude that I acknowledge all aspects of my life, the formidable and the facile, can bring me closer to Him.
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