Are you afraid of the dark?

I had the privilege of spending quite a bit of time one on one with my niece, K, this past week. She turned 3 in November and is the funniest little girl I’ve ever met, not that I’m biased or anything…

The spare room at my house, directly across from my bedroom, has been unofficially turned into K's room, full of sesame street posters and everything Minnie Mouse you could think of. She has a nightlight near her bed and a lamp on her night stand that she likes on as she’s falling asleep. Once she’s out like a light, (pun totally intended) I go in and turn off the lamp and turn on another night light in the hallway.

She told me the last time she slept over that she was scared of the dark. ‘It’s too dark’, she says, which makes sense seeing as it’s the dark, right? (she cracks me up) The conversation moved on from there and as we were walking down the stairs a few minutes later she asked me, ‘Are you afraid of the dark?’ I realized this was a crucial moment. K is so perceptive and has an amazing memory. She’ll recite exactly what you said about something a week later. It’s amazing and kind of scary at the same time. I knew that how I answered her question could really impact her, and I wanted to help her as best I could. Talk about pressure.

So I told her, ‘I’m not afraid of the dark, but there’s nothing to be scared of. There’s some times that I don’t really like being in the dark, but I know that I don’t need to be scared.’ Who knows if she actually got the point of what I was saying, but I got a lot out of it!

I realized that is so true to life itself. We as humans go through many times of darkness. We feel alone, we can’t see what’s ahead or even beside us, and it’s all just unknown to us. As tough as that is for us, we don’t necessarily have anything to be worried about.

That’s why I lean on God so much. In the dark, He reminds me that I am never alone. Always there to listen, He is always with me and I never have to feel like I’m stranded by myself. Just because I can’t see what’s next in my life or where I’m headed, I know God has an amazing plan for me and I need to trust in Him and let Him take the lead. Where He leads, I will try really hard to follow. I wish I could say I 100% will follow, but I'm certainly not perfect. I really strive to be a better whole-hearted follower. Many things are unknown to me but I know in time, when and if I need to know, God will reveal it to me. And if not, maybe it’s just supposed to stay in the dark. I need to be ok with that.

As comforting as it is to be able to pray for God to hold us in the dark, we need to remember to praise Him in the light! It’s second nature to many of us to pray when things get tough, but how many remember to pray just as often when things are great? Remember as much as God is with us in darkness, He’s with us just as much in the light. And for that I am very, very grateful!

I hope you all have a blessed, happy, light filled Monday and aren't so worried next time it gets a little dark.  

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight’
-Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)