Yoder: Standing On the Tippy Toes of Time

Note: DeSoto County News welcomes Kathy Yoder as our newest contributor. Kathy is a devotional writer, columnist and children’s book author known for her contributions to Christian literature and local journalism. Since 2004, she has been a weekly faith columnist for an Iowa daily newspaper, sharing insights and reflections on spirituality and daily life. She joins Lynn Jones on weekends as we seek to inspire our readers.  

By Kathy Yoder

Since I’m an early riser, I often see the sunrise. One morning recently in my new home, as I’m walking down the stairs, I pause on the landing to look out the big window. I see the brilliant colors of the sun peeking above the horizon, but I can’t see them well. It’s like I’m seeing the echo of the image, not the image itself. An echo is never as good as the original. It loses some of its authenticity and many of the subtle nuances.

The problem is that either the double window is too tall or I’m too short. It’s most likely the latter; it usually is. I stand on my tippy toes to get a better view of the beautiful light. As I rise up in height, I see it more clearly. The golden orange light with a slice of pink is breaking through the horizon in such splendor, I almost expect to hear trumpets sounding a joyous fanfare upon its arrival.

From this tippy-toe perspective I see something else for just a moment. A moment that lasts as long as my toes are tipped up. I see the light more clearly and more completely. Like hearing a voice in full volume and not as a mere echo.

I see something special in the light, a cross. I realize that I’ve never seen a light quite like this before in any of the countless sunrises I’ve observed.

I’ve seen plenty of sunrises and sunsets. My two favorite times of the day are when the sun is just waking up and that period of time right before the sun disappears. Both have the most beautiful light of the day. The welcome, chipper greeting of the rising sun seems to say, “Good Morning! Wake up! I’m up, why aren’t you?”

And twilight. That special in-between time that is no longer day but not quite night. Twilight has perhaps the most precious light of all. It shines the brightest and sometimes with the most amazing colors right before it disappears into darkness. During times of great privilege, I’ve seen the same in people.

Not expected to live on this earth much longer, they sometimes rally. They suddenly are awake, in good spirits, and more themselves than they’ve been for a long time. So good, in fact, it’s easy to think that they’re making a full recovery. But that’s usually not the case. No, they’re shining brightest before they say “Good-night” or “Until we meet again.”

It’s almost as if they’re standing on the tippy toes of time. They can’t stand that way for long, but while they do, they gain a whole new perspective. In the twilight of their lives they see everything more clearly.

No one I know has ever talked about their bank balance. Or their car, or their success, or even their home. No, they want the people they love with them. They want to make sure their loved ones know that they truly love them. 

Sometimes they attempt to bring people who have drifted apart back together. They must realize something that we who are not in the end stages of life forget. Life on this earth is short. It’s silly to waste time on the unimportant, like holding grudges and nursing bitterness. Bitterness only produces more bitterness. Bitterness ruins everything and everyone it touches. If you’re pulled down into the hole of bitterness, it’s impossible to stand on your tippy toes and see the beauty that’s all around you. All you see is dirt. No light shines through the darkness.

The person in the twilight of life who is rallying, may even realize that they love more than they thought possible. It’s as if during life they’ve been looking through a dirt-encrusted window, but suddenly that window is sparkling clean and they see the clearest they’ve ever seen on this earth. But if they are a believer, they will soon see more than any of us can imagine.

In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Apostle Paul tells us what it will be like when we see Jesus face to face. “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we shall see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Those in the twilight of life shine brighter knowing that their light is almost gone. If you have the privilege to witness this, it will change you. I know. It has changed me.

The light of life in its twilight shines fiercely. Seeing the light changes us, but knowing that there is a cross in that light makes all the difference. One day when I see my Lord in heaven, I don’t think that I’ll have to stand on my tippy toes to see Him face to face. He has already stooped down to my level by coming to earth to save us sinners from the darkness of sin.

The light I saw out of the second story window as the sun was rising reminds me that Jesus died for me and lives for all believers. I saw something special in the light, a cross. I can’t stand on my tippy toes for a long time, but just knowing that the cross is there makes all the difference in this life and the next.

Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at Kathyyoder4@gmail.com.