These Lamps On My Feet

Another Myspace extraction. This one was written in July '06, when I was putting myself to the challenge of writing at least two blogs per day (hence the mention of specific deadlines). I had no clue that it would be the beginning of a journey in faith which lasts to this very day (had I know, I probably would've been a little more hesitant to write, hehehe :o) ...........

Ok, this is actually cheating when you look at the heart of the matter here, but the funny thing about rules is that it's so easy to find the loopholes which totally defeats the point for making the rules to begin with (by cheating I'm referring to the fact that I'm actually getting ready to say something rather deep & theological & all backed up w/ Scripture...ok, well, hypotheticaly at least...but I have....HOLY CRAP!!! 15 MIN! That's about how much time I have left to meet my 2-blog-minimum requirement for today. So the cheat factor? Basically I'm trying to write about something that's too deep to be truly finished in that amount of time, but in order for the blog to be legitimate, it still has to read as a complete thought. So basically this is going to be a micro-blog [i.e. a microwaved blog vs. an oven-cooked one]. Ah, well. You're the only one that's suffering from that, not me, so I guess that makes it ok, right? I take well to the thought of putting others before myself. I mean, come on, isn't it obvious?).

Wow! Did I just write all of that in parentheses? Lame. Way lame. That is no accomplishment for someone in my situation. DEAR GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!!!! ALL MY RAMBLING JUST COST ME 3 MORE MINUTES, AND I NEVER EVEN ONCE STARTED WHAT IN ABOUT 12 MINUTES NEEDS TO BE A COMPLETE THOUGHT! Did I mention I'm also very good at time management? No? Well you knew that, too.

Ok, so my thought. What are these lamps on my feet? I mean, seriously, I'm not joking, and this is a riddle. I'm out on a dusty road, it's well past sundown, and what are these lamps doing on my feet? The riddle - who am I?

Let that thought sink in. Now, I don't think I'm gonna have time to get the reference for this (I'm also a good journalist, you know, making sure I have all my research before me in time to meet deadlines? Oh yeah! Smokin! I am what they call in my culture "the man", and I am only saying that b/c I am ever so humble as to care that you should be so informed:)~ There's a good chance you've heard the saying, that there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is destruction. On the other hand, narrow is the path to life, and there are only so few that find it. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you might even remember a seen towards the end that illustrates this point (the clue is diamond-studded cup).

So what does that have to do w/ these lamps on my feet, & could somebody please answer the riddle and tell me who I am!?! I'm having an identity crisis, here! Well, about the lamps, does it remind you of any verses in the Bible (or songs by Amy Grant that are, oh, I don't know, directly related to the passage in reference)? It's in Psalms ("Tehillim" as some of you might know the "sefer", random fact of the day for you all of you little Hebrew scholars [you're something I am most certainly not, you've got me there]:). Here it is (exact reference not included;sorry, 4 minutes to go): "Your Word is as a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Now, who in here guessed that in the riddle, I am the Psalmist, David? Anybody? Anybody? EEEEENNNNGGGHH! Wrong answer (come on, I'm a sucker-puncher, what were you expecting?). But did you guest that I was one of the priests in "Old Testament" times? Wow! I'm impressed.

The priests would have a small oil lamp at the end of their sandals (as my understanding of the story goes) to give them just enough light for the next step, and the point of this is that God intends us for adventure. That's right, think about it. If I already know what's going to happen, what adventure is there? What need do I have to trust in God? But if all I see is just enough light for the next step...hmm...I dunno. I don't think most of us would sign up for that insurance policy. But what truly great story exists without the element of dire risk added to the conflict, where you somehow know (as if by faith) that things will turn out alright in the end? This is where I'm at right now, this is where I want to live the rest of my life, and I invite you to try on a pair of these sandals.