First Step

However we got to where we are,

it is where we are now.

Wherever we may have been before,

or where we thought we were headed,

we've got to start now from where we are.

It seems like the path ahead is dark,

and I'm not sure where the next footstep will fall.

But I trust that if I keep listening to the Spirit

and keep putting one foot at a time forward,

that foot will land on solid ground,

and the light will follow.

Faith isn't given.

Its earned, step by step.

The iron rod didn't pass through sunlight

and clear skies.

It was surrounded

by "mists of darkness"

It provided a sure guide

to sunlight and clear skies,

but only if you held on

and pressed forward,

sometimes without being able to see

where the path was going.

No matter how dark the world that surrounds it,

the path is narrow

and straight.

Undeviating.

But you've got to take that first step

when the darkness descends.

And then another.

And then another.