The Lonely Lighthouse

What’s your favorite hobby? For some people it’s collecting stamps. For others, it’s visiting different states or countries. For me, I love collecting both teacups and currency from around the world. One hobby that has a large following is visiting lighthouses. After a quick search on the Internet, Michigan boasts it has the largest number of lighthouses in the United States. I can understand that since the state is surrounded by water with both the upper and lower peninsulas. I’ve seen a couple lighthouses in my day, but I hadn’t given them much thought until just the other day.  As I was getting ready for work in the morning I was listening to some music. A new song started and within two lines of the song my mind was thinking about this thought, sometimes humans can feel like they are lighthouses. In the song “The Lighthouse Tale” sung by Nickel Creek¹, it starts with these words,

“I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves.” 

There are days in my life when the sun shines bright and the gentle breezes blow that gives my soul the refresh I need. But more often than not over the last many years, I feel like the first line of the song. I am worn by the waves/problems that batter my life. I feel beaten and broken from the turmoil, storms, and winds that have been relentless. For years I’ve stood there as life threw everything at me just like the storms battering the lighthouses on the coasts. My guess is you’ve been there as well. Are you going through it right now? Have you just come out of the storm? Maybe you feel like that lighthouse because you feel so alone.  Some days you probably feel like Stannard Rock Light in Lake Superior that has been named one of the loneliest places in the world². This lighthouse is about 25 miles away from the nearest land, making it the furthest lighthouse from shore. However, there is a lighthouse keeper that takes care of the lighthouse! I can just picture an older gentleman with a well-worn face covered by a white beard, with a twinkle in his eyes whenever he talks about his lighthouse or as he affectionately calls, the woman in his life. He proudly tells others that she is his pride and joy and retells the accounts of the boats she’s saved in the storms. He knows how to make sure she’s running smooth. Sometimes her light grows dim but he knows how to get her shining bright again. When a rough storm comes their way, he is with her every step of the way forgoing his need of sleep or food to be an anchor within her. He isn’t able to stop the storms from coming, but he’s always there fighting for her.  Just like lighthouses have their keepers, Christians have their Keeper who lives inside of us — Jesus. While the storms rage on in this world and in our lives, He is giving us peace and making sure we are taken care of. In contrast to the lighthouse keeper, Jesus can stop the storms from coming our way but He doesn’t always choose to. His plan is the best plan. When the storms rage on, Jesus is there to give us strength and comfort. Jesus never leaves us. I know on my hardest days when things seem so bleak, I close my eyes and picture myself going up to the throne of my Savior. Not only does He welcome me with open arms, but He stands up from His throne and sits with me on the ground. He places his arm around me, places my head on His shoulder, and gently strokes my hair. His calmness, peace, and love I feel in that moment sustains me and keep me going. We also have one more thing in common with lighthouses, the light that shines from within us. We are told in Matthew 5:14-16 NIV —

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We are called to show God’s light within us so the world can see Christ through us. We need to be that lighthouse to others showing them the way to Christ and what makes us different from the world.   God never promised us an easy life without storms just like the lighthouses, but He promised us He would never leave us and would help us through them. Just like the old lighthouse keeper with a glint in his eye says, “Ain’t she a beaut?”, Jesus looks at us with a twinkle in His eye and says, “I love them more than they could ever know.”  Keeping the perspective, Lauren

¹Nickel Creek. “The Lighthouse Tale” Nickel Creek, Sugar Hill Records, 2000.

²Stannard Rock Light: The Loneliest Place in The World. Amusing Planet, 2020.  https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/01/stannard-rock-light-loneliest-place-in.html