Glow by Reflecting

I was devastated to learn that the light of the moon is reflected light. It just doesn't make sense that the biggest and brightest thing in the night sky doesn't glow on its own. It makes even less sense that reflected light can be visible during the day since the brightness of the sun makes it so you can't see light-producing bodies. The moon doesn't generate light, its glow is completely dependent on the sun, and when the earth gets in the way the moon looses its glow.

Have you ever gotten a sunburn on those parts of your face that are usually in shadow simply because you spent the day letting snow or water reflect light onto your face? If you have you know that those are the worst burns because your skin was attacked from all angles, nothing spared, and the pain is everywhere. All that sparkle on the snow is a reflection (or refraction if you are going to make me be completely scientific). The point is the snow isn't light generating, it simply takes advantage of the light available to it in order to make itself look inviting and magical.

Hand mirrors and watch faces are not light generators, but your sibling will be just as upset after a few well aimed reflections as when you shined that flash light in their eyes.

The whole reason we have light in our apartment is because there is a huge white building across the street that reflects the light so that it gets in our windows.

I've been thinking about this glow by reflection, first because I am grateful that it exists. Imagine if the moon was just this thing orbiting around us that we couldn't see, if the snow or water didn't sparkle, if you could never tinkerbell-attack you sister, if my apartment only got the light that made it there directly from the sun. The world would be pretty dark and gloomy if there were no such thing as reflected light.

I've been thinking about it because it is a pretty easy way to glow. The hardest part is getting those people who actually glow to let you hang around them so you can get your reflecting on. I have this friend who is very good at talking to people (she doesn't think so herself, she says she is just trying to emulate her mother.) I think everyone thinks they are her best friend, and that she is theirs. She is a light generator. And, while I can't generate light in that way, believe it or not I am a very awkward conversationalist, and even worse small talker, I can reflect her light. There have been several times where people have mistakenly thought that I was just as friendly as T, simply because I was sitting next to her while T and the new person had a conversation. I was simply glowing by reflection.

And if you don't believe that story, please really examine the memories you have of me being friendly, most likely Justin was there doing the light generating and I was simply angling myself to reflect some of his light. I am always grateful that I married such a nice guy. 98% of the friends that I have made on my own were those people who lived with me, so were around me enough to see past that strange, cold, dark first impression I give off (okay, that might be an exaggeration, but roommate friends, you can back me up on this right?)

On a spiritual note the only way I can truly glow at this point is by reflecting God's light. I'm not perfect, not transfigured, my hair is not producing horns let alone a halo. But, I hope to be reflecting some of that light that comes from God's love, God's truth, God's goodness. I've decided this is why children glow so readily, there isn't much blocking God's light from reflecting off of them. They aren't tarnished, and they don't let anything get in between them and God's light.

So that is the goal. Glow by Reflecting. At first it seems like the lazy-man's way out, and sure it may be, but if you think about it glowing by reflecting is pretty hard. You have to choose the right light source, be reflective material, and on top of that be clean reflective material, and not allow anything to block the light source. The goal is to remove those obstacles that are diminishing my ability to glow by reflecting God's light, and that is not going to be easy. I've got to work on distance, tarnish, light-blocking stuff in between me and God. Glowing by Reflection is just as much work as producing a glow, and that is why it is not an easy out.

Would you like to try it with me? Try sometime to glow by reflection and let me know how it works out? I'm interested.