My husband opened his office door at the end of another work-from-home day.
“Hello!” I gave him a hug, then stepped back. “You’re boiling.”
“It’s a sunny day,” he replied.
I stepped past him into the office. “It’s sweltering in here. I don’t know how you function.”
He shrugged. “My computer blacked out in the middle of a call again today.”
I glanced from the wide open window to the temperature sensor on the shelf. “31°C (88°F). There must be something we can do to make it better.”
“Daddy!” Our daughter ran towards him for a hug.
Our 1 year old toddled along behind.
“It’s time for supper,” I announced.
My husband glanced over the kids’ heads. “Yay. I’m hungry.”
Later that evening, as our fans hummed trying to bring the cooler evening air into our house, my mind wandered back to the challenge of the too-hot office. What could we do about it?
We had looked into air conditioning. Several of our neighbors had it. We went so far as getting quotes.
The extreme price tag for having air conditioning installed made us question whether it was worth it for us. Maybe there was something less costly we could try first?
In some locations, air conditioning, or other strategies for handling heat, is critical. Where I live, the outside temperature rarely passes 31°C (88°F), and the nights are always cooler. While air conditioning is a convenience, it is a luxury, not a necessity for me.
I was determined that there must be something more cost-effective we could try.
After some research, we came up with the idea of UV blocking window tinting film. It was far less expensive.
We ordered a roll.
When it arrived, my husband put it up with the help of our 3 year old, while I did my best to keep our 1 year old out of the way.
“Well, it’s up,” my husband called from the office.
I scooped up my 1 year old and crossed the hallway.
“Good,” I said, stepping into the room.
My husband was trying to rub the last few stubborn bubbles out of the tinting film.
My 1 year old wiggled to be put down. I hesitated, trying to decipher what had caught his attention.
He wanted the spray bottle my daughter had just put down.
I decided to let him down. He hadn’t figured out how to squirt spray bottles yet. Besides, the spray bottle was filled with water and a hint of dish soap – nothing too harmful.
I moved to inspect the tinted window more closely. The film hampered the view more than I’d hoped. The tree across the way looked blurry and was tinted blue.
“Definitely makes it harder to see out.” I commented, knowing how much my husband enjoyed having a window in his office. “If it’s too bothersome, you can take it off.”
“We can wait and see how much of a difference it makes.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
In the following days, it did seem that the tinting helped reduce the heat of the sunshine streaming into the office.
Why do I share this? Because a couple of weeks later, I found myself thinking of the hidden allegory in this story. It is a sober reminder for me.
If I think of the sunshine as Son-shine, or God at work in me, and of my life as a house, the allegory begins to form.
In the story above, I wanted to keep the warmth of the sunshine out of our house.
When I first thought of this allegory, I right away reasoned that this is the opposite of what’s true in our lives. We want God in our lives.
But do we?
What if there is a room in my life I have decided I would prefer to keep luke-warm? Have I put up a tinting film to keep much of God’s Sonshine out?
True, it can get uncomfortable when God focuses on an area of my life that needs to improve. It can hurt.
Yet the reward of peace and joy that follows when I fully surrender that area to God is so worth it. The fruit that comes is wonderful.
God wants all of me. He doesn’t want me holding back.
I am instructed to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'” (Luke 10:27 CSB)(Similar to Deut. 6:5)
Okay, that’s a very familiar verse. The question is, do I live it? If I am being honest with myself, do I love God this fully?
No. I need to keep growing in my love for God. I need to be asking God to help me clear those tinted windows to let His love and truth come in.
He will help me.
