I get up while it is still....

dark in my house. Because that is when I am able to get many multitudes of things done. I'm not getting asked many multitudes of questions, nor am I being distracted by strange upstairs level thumping, clumping noises. Recently we have been closing the cats up in the laundry room at night, so they do not even nag me about their famished bellies. It is a blessed quiet for study, prayer and thoughts.

However, since part of my goal in getting up while it is still dark is to work alone, I also keep all the lights off save the one right at my desk. Getting to my desk, downstairs, in the dark can be tricky. I have done the usual bit of toe stubbing, tripping, bumbling, bumping into, and my favorite, stepping in cat gack (also significantly reduced by the in laundry room curfew).  Light is a valuable commodity when in the dark.

Last Monday though, I reached a new level of appreciation for light. The whole day I felt sick, feverish, achy, irritable, just plain yucky. Whatever had hold of my sinuses over the weekend had moved messily to my chest, and I was considering googling poultices.

That night the boys wanted to go to their Bible study, and since Husband was gone, I was the driver. I got ready, just barely, and headed out the door, in the dark, to drive, in the dark, to the church. On the way there I started rummaging around in my bag for my lip gloss. I cannot stand the feeling of dry, chapped lips and usually always have one tube or stick or tin of lip balm somewhere.

I pulled out of my bag my lip gloss and began to apply it. But the brush felt really crunchy.

"This must be a really old lip gloss. It has really dried out."

The lip gloss smelled funny and tasted awful.

"Can lip gloss turn rancid? I think this has gone sour."

And then we pulled into some light whereupon I realized that instead of applying lip gloss all over my lips, I had diligently, to the last lip crease, applied jet black mascara.

Uh huh. Yes. I. did.

Then began the spitting on tissue part of the drive where I tried to wash off the mascara without smearing it from my nose to my chin because I did have to walk into the church with the boys.

Bee-yoo-ti-ful. I am still thankful that it was not waterproof mascara. Or else I'd still look like a badly made up Goth.

My point: there is a reason Jesus describes Himself as the Light of the World. He, as Light, shows us the right way to go, to do, and to live. He guides us and protects us by His Word, also described as light. Light is a useful thing practically but an eternal gift spiritually.

Walk in it. Live in it. Apply lip gloss in it.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12