18 Aug Smiling at Tomorrow

There is a remote beach off the coast of Italy near Cinque Terre where my husband and I swam and sunned one day during our trip to the Mediterranean. We had walked a steep, rocky path down a mountain to get to the beach and didn’t want to go back the same way.

Our only other option was a tunnel that lead from that remote beach to a more populated area with cafes and the train station that would take us home. The problem was that the tunnel was very long and it was pitch black inside.

Locals were used to walking this path and knew it inside and out, but we were on foreign soil and even though we’d read the travel guides that it was a safe trek to make, I can’t explain the feeling of stepping out of the full light of day into complete darkness.

It was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. What unknown dangers might surround us? How long was the tunnel in reality? We were about to find out.

We held each other’s hands and my husband pointed his phone flashlight at our feet. We didn’t have an option to fix our gaze upon anything else but the step we were about to make.

We walked step by step in this fashion until up ahead in the distance we saw a small speck of light that kept growing larger as we walked. It was the end of the tunnel! What relief we felt to be bathed once again in the full light of the sun!

Walking into the Unknown

During our journey through the darkness that day I kept thinking of the Scripture in Psalm 119:105: “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my feet.” I remember a teaching I once heard on this verse where the speaker shared that the “lamp light” being referred to was not a spot light that lit up the whole area around a person. No, it was sufficient light to see where to put your feet next – and that’s it.

We mothers are really good at worrying. We worry about genuine concerns of today. We worry about perceived or potential difficulties for today. And then when we finish with those, we often venture into the future, unknown worries that may face us in some undetermined time of the future.

If you read my last post, you know that the last few weeks have been difficult for our family. This summer alone, we walked through more major trials and difficulties than we’ve had in years.

After a season like this, it is a natural human response to cower a bit and cringe, thinking “what’s next?!” And “is it over?!” These are honest thoughts that have definitely run through my brain this past week.

I met with a dear friend of mine for tea one evening and she reminded me of Proverbs 3:25-26, “Have no fear of sudden disaster…for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.”

As Children of God, we need not cower in fear of what may come our way. In fact, Proverbs 31 reminds us that as women who fear the Lord, we can be “clothed with strength and dignity;” We can even “laugh at the days to come.“

Enough Light for the Step I’m On

We can laugh at the days to come not because they will all be trial or pressure-free, but because The Lord is our Shepherd. He not only walks beside us today but He also goes before us into all our tomorrow’s.

He will be our confidence and will provide the light we need for the step we are on. He will give wisdom to those who ask Him. He will gives strength to the weary and weak and light and understanding to the simple.

As the lazy days of summer come to a close, what changes, transitions, and challenges stand before you, tempting you to worry or fear? Let us give no thought for the morrow (for we know who holds our future) and face each day as it comes with a smile and yes, even a laugh of joy! For we do not go at it alone – The Lord is with us.