This Little Light of Mine...

“But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.” Isaiah 50:11

Don’t ask me why this image came to mind but it did and as a mom it still makes me chuckle. It was Thanksgiving, 15 years ago, and I was hosting Thanksgiving for my husband’s family. My oldest daughter Kristen who was 12 at the time decided that she wanted me to take her to Harris Teeter so she could buy something – I cannot remember the item. I told her no and she would have to wait until everybody had gone. She continued to badger me to the point that she resorted to getting on her bike and taking herself. I decided to let her go knowing that it was about 4 miles (we live out in the country and at the time it was very safe!) About an hour later we received a phone call from her saying that she had abandoned her bike on the side of the road and walked the rest of the way due to her legs being too weak to continue peddling. In addition, she didn’t have the strength to even walk back home! I have to be honest and say that as I hung up the phone I laughed and said to myself, “Mission accomplished!”

She had decided to walk by the light of own fire, her own plan and agenda, without heeding the guidance of her parents. She lit her own torch by saddling up on her little bike and forging ahead. This is so characteristic of the way in which we live our lives. We don’t like some of God’s answers so when badgering God doesn’t work we just get on our little spiritual bikes and hit that bumpy road.

The beautiful thing about this is picture is that as we sit on the side of the road with abandoned plans we too can call Home and know for certain that God will come to where we are and rescue us. I don’t know if He chuckles and has a sense of satisfaction as I did but I know that He is happy when we reach for the Light of His fire to replace ours.