"Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28)

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THE WORD IS A LIGHT TO YOUR PATH

Cathlin C. Schnarr

It was time for Jordan and Alice to go to sleep. Mama said, “Go brush your teeth, and put on your jammies!”

Alice giggled as she raced up the stairs into the bathroom. Jordan followed.

Then they both brushed their teeth and got jammies on. When Mama came up the stairs, they jumped into their beds and hid under the covers.

“Where did my two children go?” Mama asked.

Alice and Jordan both pulled off the covers and said, “Here we are!”

Mama gave Jordan a big hug and kiss, fixed Alice’s jammies so that the buttons were in front, and gave Alice a big hug and kiss.

Jordan said, “I’m going to get Wallace out of the closet for tonight.” Jordan liked Wallace, the big teddy bear, because he made him feel safe.

When Papa came up, he took the Word from its special place on the bookshelf, as he did every night, and then he sat down on Alice’s bed. They kept the Word in a special place so that they could always see it and where it wouldn’t get mixed up with other books and their toys. Jordan and Alice loved it when Papa read the Word. And so Papa held the Word very carefully and began reading,

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. Why do you think they called the Word a light?” Papa asked. “The Word doesn't look like a lamp. We don't see light coming from it. So, when we read things like this, we have to think about what lamps do and how the Word might be like them. “Wait just a minute,” said Papa, and he went into his bedroom. When Papa came back, he was holding Mama’s brass dish.

“Look what I found!” Papa said, and he brought the dish over so that Alice and Jordan could see inside. There was oil inside it and a white thing that looked like a string. Alice could smell the olive oil Mama used for cooking.

“Why did you put olive oil in Mama’s dish?” Alice asked.

“Watch this,” said Papa. He took out a match and lit the string. He set the dish on the dresser and then turned off the light. “I have made an oil lamp,” he added. The room glowed with the light from it.

“The lamps that we read about in the Word are not lamps like we have today. The lamps in ancient times were dishes or cups with olive oil in them, with wicks sticking out that could be lit with a flame of fire. The people in olden times would light these lamps, these dishes of oil, the way that we light candles today.

“And why do people use lamps or candles or lights? They use them so that they can see when it is dark. If we try to walk in the dark we may get lost; we may trip and fall. So we use a light to see the way. Psalm 119 says that the Lord's Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.

“This means that the Word shows us the way to go in life, just as a lamp does when we walk. When we don't know what to do, when we don't know where to go, when we feel lost—the Lord's Word can help us see what to do. This is how the Word can be a light for our path.”

Papa gave both of them big hugs and kisses and tucked them into their beds. Then they all said the Lord’s Prayer together. Then he went over to Mama’s dish and blew out the wick. “It’s time to go sleep now. Remember, I love you both.”

Jordan didn’t like the dark. Sometimes he felt better because Alice was nearby, but when he got really scared, he got scared for her too. She was littler than he was, and he knew he had to protect her.

Tonight he had remembered to get Wallace, the big teddy bear, out of the closet to sit on his bed. Wallace was so big and looked so strong that Jordan felt better.

Pretty soon he heard Alice snoring and knew that she was asleep. Then Jordan started to get scared again. “Papa!” Jordan shouted.

Papa came upstairs and into the room. “What is the matter, Jordan?”

“Papa, I’m scared.”

Papa came and sat next to Jordan. “Jordan, you know that Mama and I are here to protect you,” he said.

“I know. But when you’re not in my room, I get scared.” Papa got Mama’s brass dish and the Word.

“Feel this lamp,” Papa said. Jordan felt Mama’s brass dish. It was still warm. “This is like the Lord’s love for you. He loves you and wants you to be safe. Even when Mama and I can’t be near to you, Jordan, the Lord is always with you, and with His strength you are stronger and wiser than anything scary is. That’s one of the reasons why it is good to read the Word everyday like we do every night. The Word is how He talks to us and if we read it every day, He can speak to us and help us to be strong. Would you like to say the Lord’s Prayer again?” Jordan held Papa’s hand, and Papa put his other hand on Alice. “This way she’ll be with us when we say it.”

Together Papa and Jordan said,

“Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so upon the earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (see Matthew 6:9-13)

Papa kissed Jordan on the head and said quietly as he left the room, “Remember, I love you Jordan, and the Lord loves you too.”

“I love you too, Papa.”

Jordan looked over at his copy of the Word. He carefully unwrapped the special red cover, opened it and set it down on the table right near him. The white pages almost glowed in the dark.

Jordan said to himself, “I love you Lord,” and he remembered a part of the Psalm Papa had read. “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your Word.”

Jordan closed his eyes and felt a warm glow around him. He felt that the Lord was with him. Softly and quietly, he fell asleep. 
 



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