The Light / Mrs Jennie Walter

Mrs Jennie Walter

Servant of the Lord!

Paparazzi Consultant

Maine

The Light

For several years in the Fall my family would take a vacation to a Christian campground about an hour from our home. We looked forward to our annual time together in the middle of the woods on a beautiful lake. Because we waited until after Labor Day we usually had the entire campground to ourselves. The director would close down the camp for the year after our vacation was done. Usually my parents and other family members would join us, too.

Our cabins were usually next door to each other, but the last time we went our cabin was a bit of a walk from where my parents were staying. This was no problem during the day. We quickly realized though that after dark this was a bit of a struggle. The middle of the Maine woods is very dark at night! No street lights. No light coming from all the empty cabins. And our little flashlights we had brought or had on our smart phones did not adequately show much on these trails in the woods with rocks, roots and stumps everywhere! At my next opportunity I went shopping at the local WalMart and bought the best flashlight I could find and took it back to camp. I was so pleased that evening when we walked to my parent’s cabin with how well I could see! The path was clearly lit and there was no more stumbling in the dark. My flashlight did not light up the forest, but it sufficiently lit up my path and I was able to walk through the dark with confidence.

The last nine months of my life have been a very dark forest. My husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the end of June last year. The next five months were a difficult time of seemingly endless doctors appointments, hospital stays, suffering and hospice care. He went to be with our Heavenly Father in November and I then entered the dark forest of grief. And now my children and I are moving to a new home out-of-state. We are leaving the only home they have known, the only church they have known and their friends of a lifetime. I am navigating through things I know very little about like paying bills, dealing with insurance companies, and going through the process of buying a home in another state. The world seems like a very dark place.

But Psalm 27:1 reminds me “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

The Bible also reassures me in Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

God’s Word and His presence have always been my light and what I have clung to, but in these past months I have needed a bigger flashlight. More of God’s Word. More time on my knees. More of my God in EVERY way. And He has proven Himself faithful time and time and time again.

My life seems very dark, but my Father continues to shine a light on my daily steps. Each day I awake knowing everything I need that day for me and my children will be provided and cared for. With His guiding hand I walk through the dark with confidence.

He is a good God. A great God! He will light our way until He leads us each home. He never needs to change the batteries on His flashlight. He fails not.

No matter what challenges you face in your life today, run to your Father for light and guidance. Though we wish we could see everything coming our way, all we need to see is the next steps in our life. He may not light up the whole forest, but He will light up your path!