The Power of the Son

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/15/11

Here in Lithuania, the winters are long. And the winters are dark. Very dark. We spend the fall enjoying every last minute of sunlight we can soak in as the days get shorter and shorter. In late December the sun won’t rise until after 9 am and it sets again by 4 pm. The winter weather is often gray and gloomy, making it a hard place to live in the winter. It can feel oppressive.

But sometime around late February, we start noticing a lengthening of days. A couple extra minutes of sunlight in the evening can feel like hours with the amount that we’ve missed it! And then the sun starts meeting me through my window during my early morning devotion time…and before I know it, I come downstairs for devotions with full sunlight streaming through my windows! Spring is a time of rejoicing: new growth, new life, new LIGHT!

This sunset photo was taken in late April around 8:30 pm. Every day gets longer and longer until July – when the sun won’t set until after midnight and starts to rise again by 3:00 am. Summer in the Baltics is a joyful time because of the sunlight! We try to soak up as much as we can and put it on reserve—llike a built-in solar panel—to save for the winter.

But sadly, it never lasts. Lithuania has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. It can be a sad, sad place to live—especially in the winter. But this is why my family and I are here— to share the hope we have in Christ with university students who grew up in post-Soviet countries like this one. And it’s because of this hope that we can praise His name—during the darkest winter or the sunniest summer!

photographer: Kim Stave, Lithuania.