A light for my path

Thy Word - Michael W. Smith / Amy Grant

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path....

When I feel afraid,
And think I've lost my way
Still, You're there right beside me.
Nothing will I fear
As long as You are near,
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path....

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet,
My heart forever is wandering.
Jesus by my guide,
And hold me to Your side,
And I will love You to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path...
You're the light unto my path."

I love that song...it's one of my favorites, and it is timeless. It brings back memories of my early college days, when I first heard it on one of my favorite cd's "Amy Grant: The Collection".

I listened to it all the time back then...when my faith was new and fresh and seeking. I belonged to a bible study in highschool / college, where I first saw what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. It was then that I began to learn that faith in Christ was not just something you believed to be true, but it was something that was alive and growing. Something you walked out. It was not only something to sing about, but it was real, HE was real, and was interested in me and what was going on in my life. Through the years, while I have grown in my faith, God has time and time again brought me back to this place of realization. This place of beginnings, where even things of old that I learned long ago seem new. And I am in that place again.

A friend of mine spoke at church recently about the challenges of being a mom, and she said that she discovered that she has been serving her family out of an "empty cup". She had not been spending time daily in the Word of God, and therefore her cup was empty. When I heard her say those words, something resonated in my heart and 'bout made me cry! She was speaking out of her heart what I have been feeling in mine for some time now. I have not been in the Word lately like I need to be. I have fallen into the trap of being "busy" with life, and have gone to sleep way too many nights without even opening my bible. With an empty cup, I have not been giving my family Jesus, I have been giving them ME, and that's not enough. Not even close.

Psalm 119 is so awesome! It speaks about the benefits and necessity of reading the Word of God. It makes our hearts righteous, gives strength, hope, truth, freedom, peace, safety, comfort, promise, and delight! And my favorite verse in this Psalm is this:

"You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words." Psalm 119:57

I love the idea that Jesus is my portion. He is all that I need. He fills my cup to overflowing, and it is out of that overflow that I want to and am able to love my family...not out of the emptiness of my own heart. I won't find what I need, or what they need there. I need to go to the Source of love Himself if I ever hope to love my family the way God indends for me to love them.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.......may I never let that light grow dim again.