Jesus Lights Our Way

The picture to the right is our Jesus night light. (Sorry for the lousy pic, but it was not easy to photograph.) It's been lighting our bathroom for well over a decade. The Mrs. found it in a long-gone dollar store in the Twin City Plaza near Lechmere, and ended up buying several more to give to friends. If I remember correctly, they came in pastel blue and pink, as well as the white we have.

You might ask why we have such a thing, and your question would certainly be justified. I guess the best answer I can offer is, why not? We are not religiously observant, and we're not really into kitsch as a decorating theme, so I guess it's a little touch of oddity for its own sake. We just thought it was so peculiar that we needed to have it in our lives. The base part that holds the bulb is not even original; that burned out years ago, but fortunately the plastic Savior part fit onto a standard night light base, so His light could keep on shining.

When I look at it, I wonder why someone thought it was a good idea to make them at all. How did they end up in a strip-mall dollar store? Were they originally manufactured to be sold in a religious store, like that one that used to be downtown behind Macy's (does anyone know if that place is still there?), or were they destined for the dollar stores from the moment the hot plastic hit the mold?

Back when I was first thinking about starting a blog, one of the things that held me up (besides mustering sufficient motivation) was coming up with a satisfying name. One day I was wandering around the house, hoping for inspiration to bump into me. I walked into the bathroom and looked at the night light. For a moment I wanted to call the blog The Jesus Night Light, which is why I took that picture in the first place. I still like that name, but I was afraid that people would misinterpret it, either taking it too seriously or taking offense at it, so I moved on, for better or worse. But I thought it was time to share what could have been.