CHILDREN OF LIGHT

JIM FISHER

I was exhausted. It had been hot and humid that day as we toured the southern Chinese city of Guilin and climbed to the top of one of the beautiful Karst Hills. Now we were back at our hotel, and it was still steamy.

There was no air conditioning, so I flung open the windows, and for a while was happily distracted by the ceaseless activity on the bridge below us. It spans the Li, one of China's most beautiful and poetic rivers.

I perched my camera on the windowsill and clicked away. The sky was getting darker and the lights brighter. A wonderful scene was unfolding—the mystery and majesty of the shadowy hills, the preeminence of the bridge, the dazzling and streaking lights, and the silent, shimmering river!

To me, it felt like a heavenly gift that "cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17), and I recalled Jesus' command: "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light" (John 12:36). There are millions and millions of these children, I thought, as I mentally embraced the people of our host country.

While I photographed the bridge and an evening breeze cooled the surface of the Li, my personal discomfort lifted, and I was well on my way to a much appreciated night of rest and peace.CSS

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