Most homes have 'night lights' placed conveniently in hallways and bathrooms to aid those who get up in the middle of the night.

An Illinois pastor had six couples enrolled in a new members class that met on Sunday evenings in one couple's home.  Even after all the couples had completed the course work and joined the church they continued to meet on Sunday evenings.  They enjoyed each others company and developed a deep sense of commitment to one another.  One night, the pastor received a call from one of the wives in the group.  Her husband's plane had gone down and she didn't know if he was dead or alive.  The pastor immediately called the other group members who rallied around her.  They sat and prayed with her until word came that her husband was dead.  Then various women took turns babysitting and staying with her during those first difficult nights.  Group members opened their homes to out of town relatives who came for the funeral.  The men kept her car running and did yard work.  And when she decided she would have to sell her house and find a smaller place to live, they helped her locate an apartment, pack, unpack, and settle into her new home.

For many people this experience would seem like a night without end, a shadow on their lives that would never be erased.  But because her friends let their lights shine into her darkness, they reminded her of the God who understood her pain and promised to see her through it.  Jesus said, "You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."  (Matthew 5:14-15).  Friend of Dial Hope, in a world that seems to grow darker day by day, let the Lord turn your darkness into light.  Then you can brighten the lives of those around you by being one of God's 'night lights'.

Prayer: God of love and light, it's morning again, another day knocks.  The tide of light rises, slides down the walls, across the ceiling, into our eyes, purging the darkness, slowly smoothing the crinkles of sleep.  And then you say, "Get up and go.  Begin again and make this day a masterpiece."  A particle of light has pierced our hearts... again.  Lord, we are yours as long as there is light.  Thank you for the light of the world, Jesus Christ... for we pray in his name.  Amen.