Dimly Lit

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Ps. 119: 105 NKJV)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11 NKJV)

Looking at a calendar and thinking how quickly the days have come and gone since May 25 when we learned the "official" due date of baby is astounding. Already baby is at about the half-way point. It is exciting and scary. A whole new chapter in my life and in my husband's life is starting, a chapter that will in many ways last the rest of our lives (though it will have sub-chapters).

Not only that, but we are looking at my changing jobs. No longer will I work for a large corporation, doing work that pays just above minimum wage, and is awful on my health. I'll be doing what I love, working with children. It will be a home based business, and I'll have to find my own clients if we want to make it work.

Starting a new business at any time is scary. Add on starting it in the midst of becoming new parents, and the fear factor sky rockets! Yet, it is the direction we believe that God is leading us, and the verses I quoted show that God is in the lead and His plans are for our benefit. He wants the best for us. We could stay doing what we are doing, but that's not how God moves people.

God doesn't want His children to settle for good enough to get by. He wants to lead us to a future that is filled with peace and hope. Peace doesn't come from just getting by. It comes from knowing you are safe, your bills can all be paid, and you have a bit of a safety net.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching the prosperity gospel. I don't think that if I read the Bible, pray, and follow God's leading I'm going to wind up driving my kid to school in a BMW. But I do believe that God wants us to know and feel cared for. To look in the bank and see that we have enough for what we need.

God also doesn't reveal everything at once. God is a lamp to our feet, He shows us just where to take the next step. God has a broad plan, but most of the time He only shows us a little bit. That is where faith comes in. We have to trust that if we take the step (even if it is scary) that the lamp will go with us. Up ahead it may be dark, but we have the light to show us where to put each foot, and when we get to the curve, the lamp will be there to help us navigate it.

Our path may be dimly lit by a lamp, but it is a lamp that never goes out, and it is a being held by the one that knows where He wants to take us, how we should get from point A to point B, and He knows that if we trust and follow Him, point B will be amazing. So yes, new chapters are scary, but if we follow Christ the scary is negated by the excitement of anticipation and trust.

-JLP-