We can’t really “bank” daylight, can we? Can’t save it up to “take out” when wanted. We either have it, or don’t—it’s daylight, or isn’t; sun is up, or down; moon and stars are above, or sun is high. But this time of year, we bump into “daylight saving time.” We move the hands of clocks, but don’t really store light, or time, for future use.
The short history of daylight saving time is easy. Some form of it was talked about thousands of years ago, and in the early 1900s it began to be used more broadly. It’s had many names, but is all about economics. Shifting when in our 24 hour day we are “up and about” without needing a source of fuel for light decreases the amount of fuel used, whether candles, lamp oil, or electricity. It’s simple: money is saved, not daylight.
Yet, little is “simple.” When I said the sun is either up, or down, I neglected dusk and dawn. When I said we can’t save up light to use later, with solar-panels we can, in a way. Yes, things get complicated to think through, understand, explain.
Why write this, about “daylight saving time?” A few reasons. Arriving for church on time last Sunday meant changing clocks in house, car, and on wrist. Recent conversations include “What a difference an hour less sleep makes,” and “Evenings now are sure bathed in broader, brighter, longer-lasting light.” But my favorite reason to talk about “daylight saving?” Little Mindy, who lives in Southern Minnesota.
When Mindy was first old enough to think she understood the words “daylight saving time,” she took them to heart. She watched her parents move the clock hands on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning went to church. Then, heading home from Worship, Mindy said, “Let’s ask God for some of those special piggy banks. The ones to put daylight in.”
Mindy’s mom said she chuckled inside, then asked, “Well, Mindy, what would you do with some of those banks if we could get them?”
Mindy’s simple reply? “Give them away to people and say, ‘Here, it’s light from God. Now when you need it, you will know where it is.’ ”
There are desperate times in life, when we need the light of God’s love to conquer the heavy darkness that bulldozes its way into our lives. There are times when we just get our eyes fixed on our own road, and don’t look around us. There are times when we feel too “in the dark” to find our way to light.
Maybe these are all reasons for God’s gifts: sun, stars, moon, light, refraction. Maybe they are already “in the bank” for us, surrounding us, so that without having to plan it, we see them. We can catch sight and can realize, “the moon and the stars have been established” (Psalm 8), can feel warm sunlight on skin, eat food nourished by sun rays, see by sunlight and moonlight, realize inner light, and give glory to God who creates and gives light.
Psalm 74, in its ancient knowing way, says to God, “Yours is the day, Yours also the night; You established the lights and the sun.” In this season, and all to come, bank on this, “Here, it’s light from God, now when you need it, you’ll know where it is.” And then, look up….
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Pastor Kris Garey, Trinity Lutheran Church, Hovland.
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