By Danielle N. Hall

08/27/2017

(Title inspired by a conversation with a friend)

About a month ago, on July 23rd to be exact, I was conversing with a faithful friend who was making an early morning run to the grocery store to grab a few items. When she had finished selecting her items, she approached the register…as any other normal shopper would. However, what she said next arrested my attention. She said “Man, what’s going on?! The light is on, but ain’t nobody here?” I immediately said: “That’s a message…as a matter of fact, I’ll make it the title of a blog post!” So here we are…at the moment of arrival.

When I first heard the words I thought about how 35 years ago the O’Jays so harmoniously sang “You know your body’s here with me, but your mind is on the other side of town.” The thing about light, it represents presence. When many of us arrive at home, we are flipping light switches on. However, I’ve intentionally left a light on in our absence to give the impression that someone was home. I’m sure the person assigned to the register wasn’t trying to give a false signal, but the truth is, he/she sent mixed signals.

How many of us show up physically, but our minds are on the other side of town? How many of us give the impression that we are present, when we are as absent as Ferris Bueller was from school? Maybe I shouldn’t say “us” and “we”…let me just speak for myself. With being inundated with life’s pressures, especially as of late, I can certainly attest to being present and absent simultaneously. It’s become a bit of a coping mechanism.

How do we avoid this type of paradoxical existence? What I’m about to share is something I’ve experienced historically as being effective, but I have not recently employed as much as I should. Sometimes we have to:

1) Communicate the need to preserve energy.

Verbal communication is a great tool to help minimize misunderstandings and to help banish assumptions. Again, if one sees the light on he/she will assume you are present and available. Too often we assume people understand our needs, but expressing them verbally helps to take away frustration on both ends.

2) Turn the light switch off.

If we are giving the impression that we are present, but we know we aren’t truly available, it can make people question our reliability and/or trustworthiness. However, if the light switch is off, the expectation is different: it clearly communicates that we are not available. 

3) Even when you shut down, remember to stay connected.

When cell phones are being charged, the device tends to charge quicker when it is powered off. We can turn the light switch off, but we need to stay connected to the power source to get recharged more quickly. 

4) Light it up!

There is a need for the light, and the quicker we recharge, the sooner we are available to meet the needs of those who seek and await the light.

Matthew 5:16 (KJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP) May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply rooted and securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].