Turn Your Face to the Sun (07/31/2025)

Yesterday I needed some quiet time for reflection, so I went to my “go to” place, my porch, to ponder and to pray. My mind was full of concern for another whom I knew was struggling. It was so very dreary. And soon I realized that my overall mood was beginning to match the weather. As I sat and pondered, I felt myself longing for the sun to break through the clouds. And then I remembered the saying, “Turn your face towards the sun. Let the shadows fall behind you.”[1]

And it dawned on me, my mind and body knew I needed the sun. And when I think of the sun, I always think of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Light of our world. And I found myself compelled to turn to Christ, our Light, our Sun. I thought of Christmas, and the reason we celebrate it on December 25^th – to counter the pagan festival of the rebirth of the sun. Christ is our “sun.” Christ is our light. Seeking Christ in our times of trouble is turning our face to the sun, our “sun”.

Immediately, I began to change even though the rain kept pouring and the cool wind kept chilling me to the bone. My mind and heart were able to trump what my body was experiencing. And I felt seen. I felt heard by my Savior. And the shadows began to fade.

My concern for my loved one struggling remained. But that sense of darkness left. I kept thinking of Christ, turning to Him in prayer, begging Him for help. And I remembered His promise: “Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

And I spent more time, in prayer, opening myself to Christ and seeking that “rest.” And it did come. I gave Christ the weight of my concerns and asked that He help me support and accompany my loved one through this difficult time.

What do you do when the world presses upon you and the weather abets in weighing you down?

Into every life, some rain will fall. It is part of our lives. This morning as I think of you who read the blog and I hold you in my thoughts, in my heart, in my prayers. I pray to Christ that we who are seeking to follow in His footsteps will turn our faces to Him, that we will pour our hearts out to Him, and allow Him to lift us as He lifted the sinking Peter from the sea. And I pray that we will support one another along the way recognizing that often we are Christ’s instruments in this world.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.

[1] Some credit Walt Whitman with this saying. In modern times, it is part of the lyrics to a song sung by Rihanna.