Verbal Visions

To Fall or to Fail

The ethereal light calls to us. Its soft glow is a promise of eternal life in love and warmth. It is made even more powerful for its contrasting surroundings. We all see it gleaming and ache for its loving embrace. It is just out of reach, pulling, beckoning, and promising peace. All of us know it can be ours, but there is a price to pay. Nothing is free. We must prove we are worthy by navigating carefully the pitfalls that lie in our path. We cannot stay here. The floor starts to buckle, and we must make our move soon.

Many are so enamored with where they are going, they don't watch where they step and fall. They become lost and miserable. In their suffering, they trip other travelers, making them lose their way. Misery loves company, so they say. Yet others are so afraid of falling, they slowly inch along. Once they find solid ground, the stay. They fear the danger too much to keep moving. Not forward, not down, not happy, not hurt. Just Safe.

And still the eternal promise of peace and love calls me. I don't know what to do. I am also afraid. Is the light worth the danger of darkness and pain? Do I risk all I am to find it? I am frozen.

The light grows brighter still. I see my friends start to glow and I search through the darkness to see them starting to make it. There is movement in the light. I see their faces. But one stands alone and apart. My Father is in the light smiling at me. He is calling to me.

"Come to me, my Child, and live with me in the light. Forever." I feel his love across the great divide and know it will lift me up. There is danger and darkness, there is sorrow and pain, and I know at times I will fall. But now I see that's why the light is there. To help us get back up, to help us see where to step. How can you see the light without the darkness?

Day 5 Image: Lighted table and stained glass windows across a dark room with a floor that is broken and rotting in places.