I'm B.L.I.N.D. Being Led In New Directions™

1/6/24 Secretly, I was afraid of the dark for much longer than I would like to admit. No matter how much fun I was having, when the lights went out, I was ready to quit. There is something about not being able to see that really amplifies sound. Normally, if you hear a bump or a squeak, my mind could be put at ease by simply looking around. But, in the dark I would begin to imagine things crawling on the ground. Then, the humming of the air conditioner would begin to sound like a growl. I was so frightened to imagine all of the creepy things that must be going down. Even the sounds of my own footsteps could turn my smile into a frown. It’s amazing how much more comfortable I am in the dark now. If I were ever in the dark, it wouldn’t be long, because I would race to turn the light switch on. With sweaty palms and my heartbeat racing, you could hear me sprinting through my home on a nightly occasion. If I needed something from downstairs, I would always ask my father to come with me. That was the only way I felt that the darkness wouldn’t be able to get me. If he wasn’t willing to go downstairs then, neither would I, because it was just far too risky. Even if my parents were downstairs in the dark watching TV, I’d turn on the lights so that the shadows could see me. At that time, moving through the darkness certainly wasn’t easy. It was almost worse with the light from the TV. Now, it would look like something was moving over there, but it was just the light bouncing the shadow off the chair. That type of visual would only intensify my fear. My father would always say, “you don’t have to be afraid of your own house.” It was like I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. I was afraid of what was happening in the dark, not afraid of the house. It was easy for him to say because scary things were afraid of my father. But little ole me, scary things wouldn’t hesitate to bother. So, compared to my father, my task was a whole lot harder. But the night that my fear was removed, I had no choice. Once I was already downstairs, he turned off all of the lights and said, “baby, just follow my voice.” In this moment, I felt that my father was nuts. I felt a major rush of terror hit my body all at once. I began to cry, cry some more, and then cry harder. Covered in fear and tears, I screamed, “please turn on the lights” to my father. I heard him stand up thinking that he would respond to my plea. But he just moved further away from me. Once my fear had finally hit a peak, my father once again began to speak. I assumed that he would say something like, turn on the lights or make the scary things run. But he simply said, “baby, are you done?” For some reason, my tears began to stop as I responded “yes.” Then he said, “try to calm your breathing baby. Do your best.” Then he asked if I could tell where his voice was coming from, and I said “yes.” Then he said, just follow my voice baby, I know that it’s a little scary just do your best,” it was tough at first but, I kept on moving. As he spoke to me, his voice began to become soothing. Then I heard, “keep coming baby, you’re almost here.” When I finally felt his hand, I began to cheer! Then, with a huge hug and a forehead kiss, he said, “see baby, you’re alright.” Then, he told mommy that she could turn on the light. Before that moment, my house had never felt so bright. My father said, see baby, you just learned about faith.” “You were able to calm your mind even while your heart was starting to race. Following my voice made you feel safe. That’s the same thing that we do with God. His voice can lead you through any dark place. There is no place you can go where you will be without him. So, if ever you’re in the darkness. Just believe in his voice, and never doubt him.