Are you afraid of the dark, too?

One of the most wonderful things God did for me in my young life was to give me older brothers. Before you think ‘how sweet! Her older brothers protected her,’ let me assure you that this was NOT the case. I grew up in an ‘every person for him/herself’ household. However, I thought the benefit of having three older brothers, even if they were mean and ornery, is that I rarely had to be alone … at night … in my house … by myself.

To me, as a young girl, I could think of nothing worse than being alone … at night … in my house … by myself. It wasn’t that we lived in a dangerous neighborhood. It’s just that with the night comes darkness and shadows and weird sounds and, well, scary things. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have always been a bit afraid of the dark.

Fast forward to 2015 when my husband is on the road a lot. I’m trying not to be a scaredy-cat but sometimes old habits die hard. How do I fight off the fear now? Prayer, scripture, and flashlights in every room!

John 8:12 reminds us that Jesus is one high-powered flashlight for our lives:

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)

When Jesus said these words to people at the temple, He really got their attention. You see, they were in the midst of a week of celebration … it was their big deal Festival of Tabernacles, where they were remembering all that God had done for them back in the Moses years. One thing in particular was that God provided a pillar of fire at night to show the Israelites where to go. If the pillar moved, they were supposed to move. If the pillar stayed in one place, then they were to stay too.

Remember I said they were having a festival to commemorate what God had done, and part of that festival was the lighting of these large candlesticks, also known as menorahs. This meeting with the people was probably in the daytime, maybe even the day after the menorahs were lit. The people would have remembered the spectacle that the lighting ceremony was.

A modern day example of this is the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics … how each host country tries to outdo the one before it in terms of the spectacle they can make of the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.  The one I remember most vividly, probably because it was in our country, was the Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 … when boxing champion Mohammed Ali, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about 10 years prior to the ceremony, stood high in the stadium, shaking from the ravages of the disease, and doing his part to honor his country by participating in the lighting ceremony.

I don’t know that the lighting of the Festival menorah was that staged or magnificent, but something tells me that it was significant in its own way. So when Jesus spoke the words, “I am the light of the world,” He garnered his listeners’ attention. And then He added, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Those listening closely may have noticed how similar Jesus’ claim was to the words of Isaiah 9 … we read parts of this chapter a lot around Christmas but maybe have not connected it with John 8. In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet writes:

            The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

And then we have the more familiar words of Isaiah 9:6…

            For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus was and is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and, a little bit at a time, He would drop bombshells like I am the light of the world on the religious leaders of His day. Because of the accessibility of the Bible in modern times, we’ve had a lot more time to process His words which may have also given us more time to ignore them. For the next few weeks, let’s consider what it looks like in our lives to not walk in darkness but to have the light of life.

Beginning next week, we’ll use the word LIGHT to build an acrostic for biblical directives on what Jesus is calling us to have in our lives to reflect His presence – His light – to the world around us.

In the meantime? Stay out of the dark … unless, of course, you have a flashlight handy!

Gracious and Gutsy

JoAnn Leavell
(photo compliments of NOBTS)

I remember the first time I met JoAnn Leavell. We were on the NOBTS campus for Allen's faculty interview back in 1994. Mrs. Leavell hosted me while Dr. Leavell and others were grilling Allen to see if he could play well with others when it came to doctrinal matters and such. I was so nervous to spend time with her alone, and she went out of her way to make me feel comfortable. I remember her commenting on my outfit and asking if I was going to interview to be a newscaster on a local news station. That cracked me up ... one, because my outfit came from a thrift store (I didn't want everyone to know my bargaining ways back then!) and two, because I had actually wanted to study broadcast journalism in college but gave up the dream after freaking out in my first public speaking class.

And, speaking of public speaking, what about the time shortly after Allen, the kids, and I moved to New Orleans that Mrs. Leavell came up to me after I sang in church (notice I said sang, not spoke) and asked if I'd be interested in speaking at a ladies' event at another area church? I don't know what possessed me to say 'yes;' I guess the main reason was, how do you tell Mrs. Leavell 'no'? It was a shake-in-your-boots experience but I kept telling myself through the preparation and presentation, "Mrs. Leavell thinks I can do this, so here goes."

Shortly after this, Mrs. Leavell signed up to be a part of the on-campus First Place class (a Christ-centered weight loss program) I was leading with Jonann Byargeon and Paula Stringer. She kept us in stitches! Her biggest contributions were the recipes she worked on so that we could still eat home-baked goodies, just with less calories. A woman after my own heart (or visa versa).

My first semester on campus as a faculty wife I signed up to take Mrs. Leavell's student wife course titled "The Minister's Wife." I wasn't a student wife but, coming fresh off the church field, I was very curious about content of the course. I really learned a lot from her and her gracious presentation of the material that she thought so important to pass on to young minister's wives. One take-away that still comes to mind is "you don't have to do everything at a church but you have to do something. Find that something you can do and do it with all your might." And, related to that, "if you have to say 'no' to something asked of you, do it with your teeth showing" (meaning, do it with a smile) and "don't feel like you have to give a [lengthy] explanation; just be gracious in your 'no'."

The Leavells retired just a year or so after we came to NOBTS. I wasn't happy about that (it was reminiscent of a staff change at the church we had moved from, but that's a story for another blog). I knew I would miss Mrs. Leavell and the influence she had already had on my life.

But funny thing about influence ... it goes on and on. And even though I still may not get all dressed up to go to the grocery store (I remember Mrs. Leavell pointing out that you never know who you might run into) and I don't wear my hair really short even though I'm over 40 (see Don't Miss the Blessing), I treasure the way she loved on faculty and student wives. She shared her resources (time, money, and experience) to improve our lives any time she could.

On two occasions, I have had the privilege of taking a pair of student wives to Stein Mart to get a wardrobe boost, compliments of the JoAnn Leavell Clothing Fund. Mrs. Leavell started doing this umpteen years ago in an effort to encourage a student wife here and there when she got wind that a woman didn't have anything nice to wear to her husband's new church or for Easter or, well, for whatever Mrs. Leavell thought it would be good for. I love telling the wives about Mrs. Leavell and why this was so near and dear to her heart. The fund is active and welcomes new donors regularly (contact the Institutional Advancement Office at NOBTS if you'd like to contribute).

I won't get to be at the memorial service on Wednesday but I will be much in remembrance of this gracious and gutsy lady who left her mark on my life.



[For more info on JoAnn Leavell and her legacy at NOBTS, see Baptist Press article at http://www.bpnews.net/44346]