FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

When I was a teenager, our youth group took a trip to Astroworld. Some of you may not know what that is, but it was an amusement park in Houston. I don’t know what happened to it, but a lot of good memories were made there, and I’m sad it’s gone.

The purpose of our trip, besides fun, was for our youth choir to sing at a musical event at the park. We were excited for the opportunity! After a day of rides and sun, plus singing for a crowd, we were ready to relax at our motel.

It was dark when we arrived, but we could see enough to know there was a huge pool on the grounds. We couldn’t wait to get in it! There were at least 30 kids on the trip, maybe more. After getting settled in our rooms and changing, we found our way to the pool, and most of the kids jumped in! We played and swam and went to bed late, thoroughly exhausted.

The next morning we were instructed to be outside at the bus at a certain time so we could head home. As we boarded the bus, we were able to see what had been covered in darkness the night before. The huge, lovely pool we had enjoyed was bright green! It was hard to believe we had been in it the previous night. Had it been daylight, I doubt if anyone would have gone swimming!

Darkness can cover a lot of things and mislead us. As we all know, dark times can occur in our lives during the day, too. Relationships, parenting challenges, job stress, and lots more can cause “dark” days. But in spite of these things that are often out of our control, we serve a God who cares and has the power to help us.

John 8:12 tells us, “When Jesus spoke to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'”

We have his promise of light in our lives! Even when everything around us seems dark.