“…when I awake, I am still with thee.” (Psalms 139: 18)

The night may seem long. We struggle with our understanding, our peace, our faith. The darkness of material sense and personal responsibility preoccupies our minds and weakens our bodies. We often feel alone, afraid, hopeless. The night of human experience can seem to dim the sunlight and lead us to apathetic days that drag on without a real sense of insight, energy, joy.

And yet this night does not really touch us. The day has always been ours and the dream of pain and limit just that—a dream. We can awake from this mesmeric state of thinking about ourselves as separate from God to find that He has never left our side. Even when we felt our faith falter and our thoughts and behavior slip from the straight and narrow, He has been with us all night long.

I recently heard a story attributed to the Cherokee Indian tribe. The tradition goes that their youth come into manhood by being led to a rock by their fathers and left there, blindfolded, to spend a night alone in the wilderness. All night long these young boys struggle with fear and the noises and threats of danger around them. They are afraid, but the transition to manhood through this secret ritual is essential, so they bear it, though likely with tears and a sense of shame in their own weakness. And when the morning comes and the light of the dawn signals the boy’s time to remove his blindfold, he is able to see the light again, a new day as a strong man of his tribe. And this is when he sees that sitting right next to him is his father. He has been there quietly all night long.

Our Father is always there protecting us even in our darkness. And He is there when we awake to the light, celebrating with us the promise of our new day, one which He Himself has prepared just for us and for which we are ready.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.