Light of Life
Monday, March 20, 2023
Christ’s Light Shine’s in the Darkness,
and
Reflects Through Our Lives
to The World.
Isaiah 2:5
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’
Words of Grace For Today
Brent and Nellie’s A+ kiss rocked their worlds, providing balm for so many hurts. It was only a matter of months before their wedding and then their dream honeymoon.
The second day in the canoe started out to be just as awesome as the first, with a stronger wind pushing them on towards their next reserved campsite.
Late in the afternoon, after their last portage and only 4 miles to go, the wind kicked up ferociously. Brent and Nellie worked so well together they made it to their campsite, but just barely. For a long mile there they had given every ounce of strength and skill to avoid being pushed into the steep and treacherous rock covered point they had to pass before the last large bay of the lake, on far side of which their campsite waited tucked on a small island facing away from the large lake they would cross to their third campsite the next day. Tent setup, supper cooked and in their bedrolls Brent and Nellie’s worst night started out like any other night camping.
Then the winds pushed the water over the shore of their usually protected island, flooding their campsite. Sleeping was out of the question as their tent filled with water, first a few inches and then 6 inches. They pulled their canoe in the water next to the tent and packed everything back into it, and pulled it through the ankle deep water to the leeward side of the flat, sandy island they camped on. In the dark they could not see more than a few feet out on to the huge lake that waited for their morning trek. That held for about an hour before the water started to churn over their knees.
In unison they yelled to the other over the wind, “Into the canoe. The island is getting washed away.” They rode the wind out onto the lake. At first they thought they were headed towards their third campsite, not a bad destination, all things considered. If they could keep from capsizing in the 4’, then 5’, and sometimes 7’ waves. Then, unbeknownst to the two in the canoe in the dark, the strong wind slowly changed direction. Hours later a huge wave tossed them up on a rocky shore. They jumped out and pulled the canoe with great effort another 10 feet higher up on the rocks.
In the morning the storm passed. They surveyed their situation. The canoe bottom was ripped through in three places by the rocks. Their equipment was soaked, but all of it was intact, except their cell phones were soaked and dead. Even their emergency flares were soaked through. Rescue would not come soon, maybe not soon enough.
When they realized their hopeless situation, Brent almost broke everything out into an all out fight with complaints and blaming and … well everything in the arsenal of frustration and love come up short.
Thankfully Nellie, autistic as she was, just did not play along, though she knew how to make a fight blow up faster than anyone. She knew, if she followed that path, they could die more surely than the sun rising in the morning.
If they did not trust their love for each other, –
and more importantly
If they did not trust that God was their Creator and Jesus their Light, and the Holy Spirit their guide through whatever came their way, –
there would be no hope for them.
And hope was the only thing that could possibly save them, so …
She took it all from Brent until he was too tired to fight anymore and then said simply,
“We need fire for light, for boiling water, cooking food, drying everything out, and staying warm. Ready to work on that with me, now? It really cannot wait!”
Sometimes emergencies teach us what is actually important and vital for living, if we but listen, accept our failings, and learn … and trust the Light of the World to lead us.
Do you need an emergency today?