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Flickers of dim light danced on the darkened floor revealing that the path was turning in a different direction. The tunnel was longer than expected. Her heart thumped with anxiety as she placed her hands on the wall beside her for security. Careening her neck, she tried to see around the corner but the effort proved useless. She had no choice. Staying where she was would result in starvation. Stones had fallen blocking the path from which she’d come. She must continue through the dark tunnel with only the certainty that the light revealed an opening ahead.
I wrote this scene to portray the journey of every human being. The reality of time and existence propels us into the future. No matter how daunting and difficult, life goes forward. Although our fears beckon us to stay put in places or seasons of comfort and security, we have a divine mandate for progress. We must not sit idly allowing our souls to stagnate with the familiar. We are made to venture into the unknown.
Lewis and Clark ventured into the unknown West. Prepared as they could be and with limited knowledge of the terrain, they set off from St. Louis with a mandate from President Thomas Jefferson. Their journey was one of faith. What encourages me about the story is that they reached their destination. Faith in God’s wisdom, guidance and provision secured their success.
I remember being a junior in college. While the “world was my oyster”, I was unsure how to go about tasting it. In fact, I was terrified of the thought of life after college. However, it was not as foreboding as I thought it would be. My husband and I began having children and I found parenting relatively easy. Relatively. Being a parent and home educating met my need to nurture, but with it has come bouts of “I have no idea how to parent my child right now!” In these times, God’s kindness taps me on the shoulder and says, “Be still and know that I am God. I know you can’t do anything by yourself. I know you are helpless. But in your weakness, I am strong.”
God is strong when it comes to our unknowns. Not only is He our wisdom, guidance and provision, but He is the One who stands at the finish line with a smile on His face.
I have six children and the first graduates from college next month with a degree in English. Even though I have five more children to go, I can hear His encouragement to press on. On my blog, beforethebeginningbook.blogspot.com, I wrote a post called, “Surviving Parenting”. “Parenting takes perseverance and patience. That truth inevitably makes me turn my gaze upward and think of my own journey as a child of God and my relationship to my heavenly Daddy”.This blog post has been the most popular so far.
Faith is certainty in what our physical eyes cannot see. Our Heavenly Father is the light that gives clarity as we take each step forward.
The Lord gave songwriter Calie Garrett lyrics for a song called “Light The Way”.
Your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.
Won’t You light the way, light the way, light the way.
I’ll follow You wherever You lead, wherever You go.
Won’t You light the way, light the way, light the way.
