Thankful for electric lights.

I am thankful for electric lights.

It is a luxury that we so often take for granted.  Hit a switch and a light comes on.

Today is a gloomy, stormy day.  Shawn is working late.  The house was dark and lonely.

I walked from room to room, turning on the lights.  Cheerful yellow light spilled from lamps and ceiling fixtures, brightening, illuminating, cheering.

So easy.  So nice.  The sense of comfort is reassuring.

Here's a tip for parents of young children:  To help little ones make a smooth transition to bedtime, dim the lights in your home after dinner.  Turn off the TV and the computers.  Every 15 minutes, turn off a few more lights.  Play soft music but keep the heat turned up.  Be near your children as you dim the lights, talking to them, helping them change into their pajamas, reading them stories and then reading the Bible and praying.

Your nearness, and the warmth, will help them feel comfortable and happy about the dimming of the lights and the fading of the day.  They will begin to feel sleepy in the decreasing light.  Tuck them snugly into their beds with plenty of hugs and kisses.  Only after you have closed the doors on their soft, dark rooms should you turn down the heat.

What a blessing to be able to stage your own personal dusk, simply by flicking a few switches over the course of an evening.

(Of course, if you are an adult, you can just buy a pair of amber glasses.  If you wear these for 3-4 hours before bed, they'll help you fall asleep.)

Seriously, though.  Electric lights are a gift.  Humanity has not always enjoyed them, and people in some places still don't.  I am thankful for electric lights.