Lisa's Piece of Earth: August 2011

Sunlight in Kauai , July 2011

I am a light seeker. I was born and raised in the Northwest and have lived with a slow simmering wish for for a bit more sun almost daily. I did live eight years in the Mojave Desert in California when my children were small, and although the intensity of the heat was usually too hot to be out in, the light it cast was like adding sugar to yeast, and my spirits bloomed and bubbled with its addition.

We built our home almost five years ago, hoping the windows on the south side would fill our home with light. However, we didn't take into consideration how deeply our lot was going to be excavated and have found the rock retaining wall and fence above it on the south side have hidden some of the sun we were planning to enjoy.

I painted the house in saturated colors of green, camel, and blue with a warm red kitchen added for spice, before we moved in. Unfortunately, I've found that I often need to keep the lights on in the house during the day to keep my spirits up. I have been researching new paint colors for months, and have learned that adding light colored walls to a dark room only makes them look dingy. Apparently mid-tone colors are the key, as they have to provide the entire color interest by themselves with little help from the sun-light.

We recently added track lighting to our laundry room and now its bright CFL lights make the room look like God has taken up residence there. The hallway around it glows and we're half expecting a divine voice to instruct us to go on a mission of some kind.

I was watching the weather report a few summer's ago and saw a pitiful yet sweet example of our exhausting Northwest search for sunshine. The weatherman was showing a fast-forward chronology of the day's cloud cover and pointed excitedly to two brief sun-sightings that occurred around noon. The sightings undoubtedly provoked a hope inspired run on sunscreen at our neighborhood Walgreen's.

I found the following poem the other day and loved it!

I wish I was a glow worm,
A glow worm's never glum.
'Cos how can you be grumpy
When the sun shines out your bum!
~Author Unknown

Indeed, a luminescent bum shouts nothing but good times! David writes in Psalm 36:9, "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light". I've been pondering that verse. It would seem that when we accept the love God offers us, how much easier it is to see the world as a reflection of God's love and in turn we share His love and light as an abundance in us that cannot be kept to ourselves or hidden. Light reveals light.

As I continue to search for tangible light around my home, I'm reminded of how looking for the blessings around me will teach me a few things about their source. Flowers are an easy God sighting for me, so I will share with you a few of some recent blooms around my home.