Your Word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

– Psalm 119:105

The sky hung heavy and gray as I drove my daughter down the long river road to town for her piano lesson.

Our valley rarely sees much snow most winters, so I didn’t worry about the weather. The highway was dry and clear on the drive into town. As we finished our chores and prepared to drive back home, a few fat snowflakes danced around us in the growing dusk.

Nothing to worry about. We’d be home soon enough.

The pretty little whirls of flakes soon grew to a flurry. I straightened a bit in the driver’s seat and watched the road more carefully.

Nothing to worry about. We’d be home soon enough.

The flurry grew heavier until it blanketed the highway, obliterating the painted lines. A few miles from home, the storm became a white-out in the dark. The landscape disappeared behind a thick veil of white. I couldn’t see the road or even the guardrails.

Now I was worried. I clutched the steering wheel and peered into the blowing snow. Where was I? Was I still on my side of the road? How far was I from home? To make things worse, a car followed slowly behind me, trusting me to blaze the trail. Together we inched along the highway, the blind leading the blind through a holocaust of white.

My nerves got the best of me, and I began to cry.

I had already been praying as we fought to stay on the road. Then I saw a distant light that had to be from a neighbor’s house, and it occurred to me that I could “read” the road by watching the house lights. In the sparsely settled countryside, each house became a beacon to lead me home through the bewildering storm.

One by one, I found the lights belonging to each house along the highway as we came upon it. I still didn’t know if I was on the right side, left side, middle, or shoulder of the road, but with no other cars coming, it didn’t really matter. As long as we didn’t hit anyone or roll down a bank, we were okay.

We finally made it home that night, not so much because we knew the way, but because we were led by the lights.

Has a flurry of trials covered your path with an avalanche of heartache? Have you lost your way? Look for the Light. God’s Word will illuminate the way for you, give you the landmarks and boundaries to guide you through the worst of storms, and lead you safely home.

Don’t despair, even in the storm. You’re going to make it.