Walking in the Dark

I am so grateful for family. I don’t live near my family so anytime I am able to spend with them is a blessing. A couple of months ago I visited my aunt and uncle, and in the middle of the night I woke up and went to the bathroom. When I went back into my room, I could hear their dog breathing and wagging his tail. It was pitch black so I couldn’t see the little fellow; I began reaching for him to put him out, but could not seem to get my hands on him. Reaching for the light switch, I slid my hand down the wall. Where was that blasted switch? I reached and reached to no avail.

Pausing to think, I decided to go back into the hallway and turn on the hall light so that I could see to get the dog out of the room. As I turned to exit, I felt clothes on all sides. What? I was somehow in a closet. I went back into the bedroom and tried to leave again only to find myself once again in the closet. What in the world? Startled and disoriented, I stopped and pondered what to do. Aha! I would get my cell phone off the bed and use it as a flashlight. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?

So, I practically leaped out of the closet and over to the bed. When I reached for my phone, I jumped in terror as I grabbed a leg! Where was I?  My uncle sat up in the bed as my aunt asked what I was doing. Mortified, I turned and ran back into the closet. I turned around and couldn’t find another door. I rushed back into the closet as I frantically tried to leave the room. My aunt was calling out to me, “No Natalie, the other door.” I couldn’t see another door. Finally, my uncle turned on his phone so that I could see well enough to race out of the room. Embarrassed does not begin to explain my plight!

While I can laugh about this now, at the time I was both confused and lost. This is what happens when we walk in darkness. One wrong step and our path changes. We make one seemingly small compromise and it leads us down a path toward other compromises, taking us further astray. The alcoholic convinces himself that just one drink is harmless…thus begins the journey away from sobriety and toward a path he swore he’d never walk again. The teenager justifies that she can make out without crossing her boundaries only to find herself slowly progressing down a slippery slope to a path she swore she’d never take.

There are times when all it takes is a little light to set us back on track. Just as the cell phone lit up the room illuminating my exit, God’s Word will guide us to a path of hope and restoration. May we take time daily to fill our lives with the Light so the darkness will flee from our lives.