Jet Mariano

Tag: Light of Christ

  • Hidden in Plain Sight: Camouflage, Storms, and the Light That Never Fades

    Green dragonfly camouflaged among yellow-green croton leaves; wings catch a thin line of light.

    Excerpt

    A dragonfly vanishes into the croton leaves—nearly invisible until the light catches its wings. Even when we can’t see, the Light is still there.

    Intro

    Elder Neal A. Maxwell compared life’s dark weather to a storm where we cannot see the sun but know it is still there. Likewise, in our stormy moments the Son of God remains constant. This image of a camouflaged dragonfly became a quiet parable of that promise.

    Notes from Elder Maxwell

    • “You’ve all been in a storm… when you couldn’t see the sun but you knew it was still there. Likewise… the Son of God is always there. His light will never go out.”
    • Hope is not wishful thinking; it is trust in a steady, unwavering Light.
    • Our task is to keep moving by faith when sight is momentarily withheld.

    Perspective

    Camouflage works because color and pattern mimic the surroundings. Fear does the same—blending truth into the noise until guidance seems gone. But the Light hasn’t moved. Shift your angle, breathe, and let the glare settle; suddenly the wings glint, and direction returns.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • When anxiety spikes, pause and pray: “I know You’re here even if I can’t see.”
    • Name one current “storm,” then write one way Christ has lifted you before.
    • Look for small glints—scripture lines, kindness, music—that catch the light.

    Final Reflection

    Faith is the discipline of remembering the sun in a storm and the Savior in shadow. The scene may hide Him for a moment; it cannot extinguish Him.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “His light will never go out.”

    What I Hear Now

    Hold course. Let Me be your fixed point while the weather passes.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • His Image in Your Countenance

    Rain on the glass, light in the heart—‘Have you received His image in your countenance?

    Intro
    Yesterday after work, I was driving in the rain and decided to swing by the Taylorsville Utah Temple to photograph it through the windshield. The lyric asks, “Does the Light of Christ shine in your eyes?” Storms don’t decide that—presence does. The rain softened everything, but the temple remained steady, a quiet reminder of “a beauty from within.”

    His Image in Your Countenance (Janice Kapp Perry) — full song

    With no apparent beauty that man should Him desire,
    He was the promised Savior to purify with fire.
    The world despised His plainness, but those who followed Him
    Found love and light and purity—a beauty from within.

    Chorus
    Have you received His image in your countenance?
    Does the Light of Christ shine in your eyes?
    Will He know you when He comes again, for you shall be like Him?
    When He sees you, will the Father know His child?

    We seek for light and learning as followers of Christ,
    That all may see His goodness reflected in our lives.
    When we receive His fulness and lose desire for sin,
    We radiate His perfect love—a beauty from within.

    The ways of man may tempt us, and some will be deceived,
    Preferring worldly beauty, forgetting truth received.
    But whisperings of the Spirit remind us once again
    That lasting beauty, pure and clear, must come from deep within.

    Final Reflection
    Two lines won’t leave me: “Does the Light of Christ shine in your eyes?” and “We radiate His perfect love—a beauty from within.” The first is a question of identity; the second is a promise of overflow. Christ does not polish the surface—He converts the source. When His fulness displaces our old appetites, radiance stops being borrowed and starts being reflected. The world chases visibility; disciples seek visibility of Him. And like last night’s view, life can be rainy without being dim. If He is in frame, light still finds us—and then finds others through us.

    What I hear now

    • Holiness isn’t cosmetic; it’s conducted through a willing heart.
    • Eyes preach what lips can’t; let them carry peace.
    • Reflection over performance: light, not glare.
    • Repent quickly so the window stays clear.
    • Trade comparison for compassion; both can’t live in the same face.
    • Keep the Temple in frame when the week gets rainy.
    • Ask nightly: “Did someone feel His love in my countenance today?”

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

error: Content is protected !!