Cracks In The Sand

I was driving down the road and saw something odd ahead of me.
I was in the middle lane of a three lane road.
The car belonging to the driver in the right lane looked a bit odd.
From a distance, I could not discern what was shining so brightly from the side of the car.

As I drove along, my lane was clearer than the lane to my right.
I was able to drive up alongside of the little red car.
As I approached, I could see something shining in a place where a bumper should be.
My mind was trying to make sense of what I was seeing while still driving safely on the road.

As I got closer, I could see that the front bumper of the little red car was badly crumpled.
It was a gray day with a fine, misty rain.
Many drivers had their lights on even though it was the middle of the afternoon.
The little red car had its lights on as well, however one light was not in the right place.

The front light on the driver’s side was hanging from the bumper with only a wire attaching it.
The light still worked but it was not illuminating what was ahead of the driver.
The light was bumping up and down as the driver went down the road.
The light was shining in the wrong direction, illuminating nothing but the road underneath.

I can only imagine how distracting this would be at nighttime.
Distracting for the driver who only had one headlight pointing forward.
Distracting to oncoming cars who would be unable to discern the odd light.
Why was a light hanging on the side of a car shining downward?

The driver seemed oblivious to the fact that his front light was hanging by a wire.
He drove with two hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel.
His whole body seemed tensed and on alert.
I was just hoping that his front light would stay attached until he was able to get it repaired.

The light was shining but it was useless.
The light was not where it should be.
The light was illuminating the ground underneath, instead of what was ahead of him.
It was a light that was not doing the job it was supposed to do.

I had a dream the other night.
It was so vivid and disturbing that I actually wrote it down.
In the middle of the night I typed my dream into the notes on my phone.
I typed quickly with bleary eyes trying very hard not to wake my husband.

DREAM: Cracks in the sand. Lone figure. Cracks went towards the horizon. The cross.
I read my note the next morning.
The dream came back to me.
I was not afraid but I was disturbed; disturbed enough to write it down.

In my dream a lone figure was sitting cross-legged in the sand.
His back was to me and I could not see any of his features.
Coming from underneath the figure, cracks began to form in the sand.
The cracks went out in every direction; they moved toward the horizon.

I wanted to yell for the person to get up but no sound would come out of my mouth.
I wanted to warn the person that the ground was going to cave in around him.
No words formed.
No sound was uttered.

I watched the cracks grow larger and larger.
The person sat calmly in the sand.
The person was fixed on some point on the horizon.
All I was looking at was the cracks in the sand.

In my dream something made me shift my gaze.
I looked towards the focal point far ahead of me.
It was as if all the cracks were pointing to the whatever held the person’s attention.
I wanted to see it too; I wanted to look at anything but the cracks in the sand.

As a spectator, I looked towards that point on the horizon.
I could see the even breath of the person sitting on the sand.
Nothing could deter him from gazing at this one point.
I tried to focus but the light was not right.

The glare was in my eyes and I could not see.
The light was not shining the way it was supposed to shine.
I got down in the sand.
I sat next to the cross-legged person and fixed my gaze.

I saw it.
There on the horizon a brilliant light was shining.
It was beautiful and peaceful and seemed to be illuminating an object.
I saw the outline of a cross and then I understood.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)

The cracks in the sand threatened to overtake the cross-legged person.
Everything he was resting on was about to give way.
He was not moved.
He was not fearful.

He was steady in his gaze.
He was fixed upon the one thing that mattered.
He knew that he was secure.
He knew that even though everything was crumbling around him, he was safe.

I began to understand.
The glare of the light was an impediment to me.
I could not really see until I got down in the sand.
I could not really see until I humbled myself to see only the Light and the cross.

I needed to take my eyes off the cracks in the sand.
I needed to look only at the Light that was ahead of me.
The glare was blinding and I could not see clearly.
But the Light shone in the right place and I was secure.

The Light shone in the right place.
The head light I saw was bumping up and down illuminating all the wrong things.
Though it was shining, it was useless.
It illuminated the dirt, the gravel, the potholes, and the occasional roadkill.

But the Light, the true Light, illuminates the way.
The Light illuminates the road ahead.
We have nothing to fear even if the sand around us develops cracks and the ground gives way.
We have nothing to fear.

I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

He is our refuge.
He is our ever present help.
He is our Light.
He is our salvation.

Amen.