"A father who was a coalminer took his son down the shaft into the underground pit where he worked. He said, ‘Wait here in this lit space, as I need to go along this tunnel.’ While the son was wating for his father to come back, the light in the mine failed. He was in pitch darkness and screamed out for his father.
Down the tunnel, he heard his father’s voice command him to start walking towards hi
m. They boy cried out that he could not see anything. His father said, ‘Is the light on your helmet on?’ The boy replied that yes it was, but it only threw light for one step ahead, and it was deep black beyond that. His father said, ‘Well, take that step.’ Of course, the boy did, and cried that he could not see any further. His father said, ‘How much light can you see now?’ The boy replied, ‘Only about a step.’ Back came the instruction, ‘Well, take that step.’ There was enough light just for one step at a time and, of course, by following the soothing advice, one step after the other, he finally reached the safety of his father’s strong arms.
We would all prefer to see much further ahead. We want the road map and to know the short cuts. But usually we only have enough light for the next step. To get anywhere we must take that. Are you doing what you need to do in this moment – maximising the light that is within you or are you trying to look too far ahead?"
~Tim Costello (from Hope: Moments of Inspiration in a challenging world)
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