Have you ever used a flashlight outside at night? The only thing you can see is in the beam of the light. Everything else is dark, mysterious, or maybe even dangerous. You have to sweep the light back and forth to keep from stumbling over rocks or logs. It can be a little scary. Especially while you are moving up a mountain to go hiking or hunting.
How much easier would it be to flip on a light switch and make the same trek when the sun is up and you can see everything. All of the obstacles in your way you can easily walk around or see the edge of the cliff and move accordingly. It is amazing what you can do when you can see in the light.
This life is in a world full of darkness. Jesus is the light. We can see the world through His light, but sometimes it still looks like we are using a flashlight. He allows us to see what He wants us to see. Mostly only a few steps at a time. This builds up our trust in Him. If He were to let us see everything that we were/are going to go through, we probably would not do it. I know that I would have stopped in my tracks and said, "Nope, that way is too hard, I'm going this way". While He is giving us pieces at a time we are building faith and strength. And while we may slowly be reaching the end goal, there is an end goal. We are not just floundering in the depths for no reason.
My wife and I have adopted two children and we have a biological daughter. I can tell you that the road of "normal" parenthood is not easy and when you throw in kids that you do not know, that bring in their own problems and generational curses, life gets really interesting. All of the help that we have given them and the time that we invest in all of them, all of the love we share for them and the pointing them to Jesus is just the beam of light. It is up to God and them to make their own path.
Most days I want to be able to see where God is leading us. That way I can get there quicker by bypassing some of the pitfalls and detours. But those are what help us grow. And grow we do. Slow and painful growth is still growth.
How do we grow in faith, how do we raise our children, how do we eat an elephant...slowly but surely, one piece at a time. We use flashlights, not light switches.
