You can’t have enough flashlights! I have lots of them and still find ones that I want. I have heavy 3 Dcell MagLites. I have tiny 1AAAcell lights. I have headmounted lights. I have one powered by squeezing a lever. I have one that you shake back and forth that actually holds a charge! The newer ones have very bright LED bulbs that are very efficient. The batteries seem to last forever. Often, however the batteries seem to end up going bad or missing.
Using a flashlight at night can be so helpful and maybe even comforting as we see the area in the beam lighted up so clearly and brightly. One downside though, everything outside of the beam seems even darker. Also, when I turn the flashlight off, my pupils, so constricted from reacting to the bright light, don’t allow me to see much of anything at all!
My oldest daughter and I love to spend time on our farm doing almost anything, work or play. We particularly enjoy walking across the farm, hand in hand, in the dark. without a flashlight! After leaving the circle of light from the car or house light, our pupils become huge, reaching out to gather the light from the sliver of a moon, or just from the stars, just the way the Creator built us to do.
At first, everything seems very dark. Soon, vague shapes of trees, fence posts, horses, and other objects begin to appear. as we get further and further in distance and time from our self-made light, the shapes become clearer and more distinct. Leaves on trees, wires on fences, ears on horses slowly appear.
Her hand in mine and mine in hers keeps her steady when she stumbles. And yes, when I stumble! The minutes go by. We are amazed at how bright the world around us becomes by starlight.
Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the LORD
and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10
Every time I try to supply the light in my life, I run into trouble. Things seem bright at first, but it blinds me to most of the world around me. And when my light inevitably fades, I am left to stumble through my days dangerously crashing in to things, a danger to myself and to those around me.
Have you ever been tricked into walking in your own light? Do you feel like you are in the dark some times? On this very day, Friday the 13th, superstitions and darkness spread even more. Are you feeling oppressed by the darkness, overwhelmed and unable to see your way? Great! Then God has you right where He wants you, right where he can work with you. Flooding your life with a light that touches every step and every person around you. All you have to do is turn off your pitiful flashlight and open your eyes wide. Your Father will do the rest. Day or night, storm or calm, His light never changes.
Father, give me the power to turn off my flashlight and walk in the dark, trusting You to light my life.
shared 8/13/10 and 11/10/14 in the workplace.