Joel M Bradshaw

105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.–Psalm 119

A few years ago I recall being persuaded by a nutritionist to add additional glasses of water to my daily intake. I wish I could tell you that it aided my weight loss journey tremendously. But it did guarantee one thing: a 3:30am trip to the bathroom.

And one night, well, it was a trip indeed. I have a little nightly routine that I do before sleep. I check the doors one last time. I make sure the stove and oven are off. I turn off any stray lights that have been left on. I feel safe knowing the general layout of my house.

The problem was that I had a young son who loved to play with Lego building blocks. And on hardwood floors, those Legos can easily turn into ice skates! So even though I had gone to bed knowing the path to the bathroom, in the wee hours before the necessary journey (did you catch the pun there?), Legos had found their way to be in my way.

I’ll never forget that night. I slipped and slid and crashed. I made a massive noise that woke up the whole house, sleeping baby and all. The evening went from complete quiet to BOOM!

The problem wasn’t my son leaving his Legos on the floor. No, the issue was me not turning on the light switch. Oh, I turned it on after the fall. Only to find that I had completely bent a metal broom. The kind of bending of metal that renders it unable to be bent back. It was a sturdy broom, but I am a big guy.

I had to not only explain to my wife why I woke everyone up, but also how the new kitchen broom got completely broken in half. All because I didn’t turn on the light switch.

Every time I ponder today’s verse I think of that night. I had no excuse not to use the available light to guide my path. It would have shown the unseen Legos. We may think we can navigate this life on our own, but we need the light and lamp of the Bible. We need the great boundaries of Scripture reminding us of things to stop and things to start. We need the moments of direction it offers so we can align our paths towards God.

A light is only helpful if you use it. I would bet many of us have a Bible. But do we read it? To not study God’s Word is the same as me not turning on the light switch at 3 in the morning.

I said, “I got this.” But then I also broke a metal broom in half. I’ve turned on the light ever since.–JMB