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Verse:For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails. —Psalm 31:10, NKJV
We moved around California a lot—from the north to the south. About the time we moved to Glendale in Southern California, Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the United States found itself directly involved in World War II. So our government imposed blackout restrictions on West Coast communities to make things more difficult for the enemy, should they want to attack our mainland. Therefore, we had to turn off all the lights when the siren sounded. If a light accidentally got left on in the house, someone would invariably knock on the door and tell us to turn it off! My mother would take us into the closet, and there she would tell us stories or sing with us. It was really scary for us, but we got used to it. Mom would tell us stories about when she was a child. My sister and I would be so happy—and distracted—listening to her that we’d almost be surprised when the all-clear signal was sounded. One night, the blackout time lasted for several hours. When the all-clear signal was sounded, we were so happy and relieved to be able to turn our lights back on and go outside.
Our mom also taught us to pray to God each day. We learned that we had to rely on God for our safety in these trying times. Practicing our growing faith brought us even closer to Jesus and taught us to hold on to the promises of His Word. He was the Light in our darkness, and we learned how to draw closer to Him each day. As we grew in faith, we also grew in the knowledge of how very much He loves us! Of course, we were glad when we finally got through this part of our growing-up history. Although we had loved hearing all of Mother’s stories in that closet, we were relieved after the war to have our lives back to normal again.
The Bible tells us that in this life, we will have experiences that bring us grief and uncertainty. But our strength does not have to fail. As Mother taught in that closet so long ago, God is our safest Refuge in the dark. He is our Light. “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, NKJV).
Anne Elaine Nelson