God, Darkness, and Spiritual ADD

This weekend is the women's retreat for my church in Columbus, Mississippi. By falling on the weekend of the official start of basketball practice, I felt like there was not going to be a way for me to go. Then we find out that Friday's workouts were going to be early, and I felt that I could drive there and back for at least Friday night's session. Then practice got moved back two hours and I was tempted to just not go as it meant that my husband would have to have the kids at practice, but he was okay with that so I dropped the kids off and started off to spend some time with some godly ladies. Even though it was daylight and I had an address and GPS, I still managed to get lost because I did not see a sign that told me to turn. Luckily I still made it in time, and was there to hear God's word spoken to my heart, and even though I was only able to participate in a small part of the weekend, I felt like God had me there with a purpose to speak those words to me. The women that were staying had been challenged to not speak in the morning when they awoke until they all gathered for breakfast and to use that time to have quiet time with God. I knew that was not going to be possible for me at home, so I decided to use the drive back for my quiet time. Upon leaving late last night, I was determined not to get lost on my way home or repeat the errors I had made on my way there. I was on a road that was unfamiliar in the dark and I wasn't sure where I was going, so the darkness actually sharpened my focus. I had to be aware of every twist and turn in the road and rely on my lights to see the path in front of me. I was no longer distracted by the things on the side of the road because I couldn't see them in the dark like I could in the light. With my improved focus, I was easily able to make it home without getting lost.

Sometimes, we travel dark pathways in life. For those that know Christ as their personal saviour, God can use the darkness of our situations to help us focus our eyes on His light and not be distracted by other things until He leads us safely home to an eternity with Him. The path of autism has some days in the light and some in the dark, and for many parents, they become lost in the dark without hope of ever getting back to the light. Don't give up hope in the dark times, but rather think of the darkness as God's spiritual Adderall that is sharpening our focus on His Light that is leading us home.