Back in December
I put Christmas lights
on my back porch.
Solar-powered lights,
with a panel to catch the sun.
It took a lot of work,
to coil the copper strands,
make the pattern even.
That night, I waited.
But all was dark.
What a shame, I thought,
they’re broken.
Oh well. They were cheap.
I’ll throw them away.
But I never took them down—
lost in that neverending list
of tasks I always mean to get to
and never do. The bulleted poetry
of my daily failures.
And then, a few weeks ago
I looked out the window
and there was light.
The lights weren’t broken
they just had to wait
for enough sun to reach them each day.
They just had to wait
until something else gave them strength.
Some things take a while to shine.
This week has been hard,
but there’s a luminous prayer
on my own back porch.
Thank you God,
for these cheap old lights
to remind me on my dark nights,
that maybe I’m not broken
maybe I’m only waiting
until I have enough of your strength
and enough of your grace,
and enough of your own Light
to shine.
Deep Well Worship 