I remember the first time I spotted C.S Lewis's book 'Surprised by Joy'. I bought the book just for the title (not sure I've done that since). At a time in his life when he was least expecting it, Lewis suddenly found himself in love with a gal called Joy. Love caught him off guard and basically knocked him for six...how perfectly lovely. He was a deeply religious man and I know that the book wasn't actually about how he met the love of his life, but I just mention it in passing because I think it's a delightful thought....to be ambushed by love !
I found myself ambushed in a different way this morning....left in a state of wonderment and caught in a daze of delight. And I'm going public on it right now.
When I woke this morning and tugged back the toffee coloured curtains I was met by a panoply of lush foliage of every description and shafts of ridiculously bright light, bursting through every gap that wasn't filled by a plant. The scene was seriously glorious and beyond description. I stood, dumbfounded by the immense beauty before me. I found myself beaming spontaneously and shaking my head - the light was exquisite. If I told you that the beauty almost hurt would you understand?
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| My morning view |
Nairobi is still rocking from the aftermath of the Al-Shabab attack at the Westgate shopping Mall. These aftershocks come daily in the form of stories of unbelievable incompetence and insane behaviour by security forces and those in places of power and authority - stories of the army looting jewellery shops and robbing banks while innocent people died at the hands of terrorists. Stories that make your heart fill with inky-darkness and tempt you to lose faith in the human race.
....but amidst the floorboards of bleakness, chinks of brilliant light could be found. During the 4 days of violence and fierce fighting there were acts of immense courage: like the man who raced in and out of the mayhem rescuing terrified souls, including one little 4 year old girl he found fleeing all alone.
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| Drinks at our local shopping Mall - identical to Westgate |
| So here's what came through for me today? 'Light' is found in unexpected places. We just have to allow ourselves to see past the shadows and let life dazzle us. And curiously, we need the darkness of life to appreciate the Light that is there, waiting to be seen, waiting to be appreciated and delighted in. |
As Leonard Cohen says '...There's a crack in everything; thats how the light gets in'.
Be suprised by the light of life today.
- JB
