"I am the light"

Sleep has never been something that has come easily to me. I often struggle to fall asleep and even after having finally falling asleep, I am often woken again in the night. When I wake up I am often inclined to get out of bed and get a drink, usually of milk. After having left my bedroom as quietly as possible so as to not wake Becky, I begin to make my way down the stairs. Remembering that I have two small children I recognize the need to turn on the light so as to not step on a toy or other misplaced object, thus falling down the stairs ensuring that I would not sleep again that night. The instance I flick on the light after having just woken up I can feel the burning discomfort as I squint my eyes so tight I begin to see purple stars. You see, even though I realize the light will expose the things I will need to avoid in order to have a safe journey down the steps, it does not take away from the initial discomfort as my eyes adjust.

For anyone who has had a parent suddenly open the blinds to hurry up the wake-up process or has been fast asleep as a college friend enters the room and turns on the light with no thought of how this might affect you or simply wakes up before the day begins; you will be able to relate to that painful adjustment that inevitably takes place.

When Jesus enters into our lives it often comes with a sudden realization of the darkness we were in prior to his coming. Since our eyes were accustomed to the dark, the light brings a certain discomfort, even though it reveals all things.

As a child when I had bad dreams, I would close my eyes tight under the assumption that if I can't see it, it can't hurt me. On the contrary, it is what we cannot see that we need to fear the most. Allow Jesus to shed some light on the matter and, although you may not like what you see, you will now have the ability to allow God to fix the problem, and who better to guide us in this dark place than the one who said "I am the light"

Rob