I have reached that age as an adult male, where no matter how much or how little I drink at night, I must get up in the middle of the night to visit the facility. Sometimes its 2 or 3 times a night. I have gotten pretty good at negotiating my way past furniture in the dark.

As I think about this, I remember doing the same in about every place I have lived, at one time or another. I doubt I am the only one who wonders about in the thick of night, to find relief. It is pretty amazing how quickly we become aware of our surroundings... we know there is a desk chair here or a table leg over there, and we sidestep these items to make our way.

As a parent you learn to have the children pick up toys before going to bed. This serves several good purposes, but one of the benefits is the avoidance of that midnight fall after tripping on a stuffed monkey. Yes these little land mines in the night have claimed many of us. Falling down is bad enough, but falling down in the dark can be a terrorizing experience. You cannot see what is about to submit its density into your soft tissue. When it happens, the surprise alone causes you to think it was a near death experience.

Often our knee-jerk thought is to uncover the little body who bestowed this untimely little blessing, and remind them of your potential power in handing down punishment for such careless acts of kindness.

Fortunately, the fact that knees sometimes jerk, doesn't mean we have to. The simple fact is that as we embark on our foray into the dark, the simple flipping of a switch would illuminate any potential foe, and prevent untimely upending. We could even invest in a nightlight.

Too often in our walks with Christ we do the same thing. We don't allow the light of His Word to shine into our lives because we are too busy or just fail to open it up. Unless His light is routinely shed on our path we will fall often. The cool thing is that His Word - which is "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" - always reflects His marvelous light on the road before us. We can be prepared to face the uncertainties in our lives if we will but enter His Word. He illuminates each necessary step, not the whole lane, but each crucial footlanding so that we can continue on in faith.

Flip the switch... open the Word!

dad