Just O.K?

John 11:9-10 -- "Jesus replied, 'There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.' "

By now, most of you know that a huge passion of mine and of my husband is to comb the beach for shark's teeth. Believe it or not, we take it SO seriously that we will, occasionally, don flashlights and head out in the middle of the dark, if that's when low tide falls. It's fun when we do this because we have the beach to ourselves and come home with quite the haul. But, it can be creepy, too. ...nothing but dark except where our beams hit the sand and sounds are strange in the middle of the night. So many times I've been sure I heard someone run up behind us -- only to turn around and find nothing but more blackness.

There is no question, that we can see much better during the light of day.

I read a little blip by Beth Moore recently and she commented on this verse. It made me think of a couple of things: First, being able to see clearly is paramount for our spiritual hike through this life. How many times in my own life have I chosen the wrong path? Made mistakes that could have been avoided if I'd seen them in time [if I had been paying attention]?

It is true, I can see where God has turned these sticky situations around and I've come out o.k. There is no question that God often rescues me from myself.

The second thing it made me think of was an experimental brownie recipe that I tried out when the kids were little. I dove into to making brownies - had everything in the bowl and ready to add the eggs, when I realized - I didn't have any eggs. Well - this was going to be a booger. Then I remembered that I'd read somewhere that you can substitute apple sauce for eggs. One cup is equal to one egg  [or that's what I thought]. ....boy was I wrong! What came out of the oven smelled like brownies. It looked like brownies. But when I tried to cut them into squares my knife got stuck deep into a dark brown rubbery solid brick that literally bounced when it hit the floor. Not good.

If I had checked for all my ingredients BEFORE I started the brownie recipe -- things would have ended up a lot better.  Which brings me back to seeing clearly. Like I said, it's paramount. You know....look before you leap [even when just making brownies].

Beth Moore brought it to my attention -- that yes, God can save us from ourselves. Yes, when given to God, our mistakes and blunders CAN turn out o.k. BUT.......yup, there is a BUT....is o.k. really what God wants for our lives? I'm not really sure it is.

Jesus said that he came that we might have life -- AND have it more abundantly. It's not just about being o.k. If we could see clearly and chose the path that God lights up for us - we wouldn't so often need rescuing from ourselves. Things would be better than just o.k. They would be great -- because we followed God's design for our lives. We wouldn't be stumbling around in the dark in the first place.

I'm ready for THAT greatness. I'm ready to grow and shine and not need to heal from the bumps and bruises I incur while stumbling through a dark path that wasn't mine to take. I want to better than just o.k. All I have to do is follow the real path God set before me.  The one with his REAL light.