Light on a Path

Brian and Keith, sixteen-year-old friends, camped without adults for the first time. In the mid-afternoon, Keith drove his car to arrive at a clearing for their campsite. Camping for the last six years, the boys felt confident in their ability to find firewood and prepare a campfire.

Keith and Brian each wore an old tee-shirt and blue jean shorts. To cool off, Keith pulled his shoulder-length brown hair into a short ponytail. He busied himself shifting his load of firewood, practicing showing off muscles with his tattoo.

Brian prepared for the heat with a haircut one week earlier. He ignored his friend and carried enough firewood for both boys.

After setting up the tent and moving the coolers into it, fishing occupied their thoughts. The tug of big bass on their fishing poles brought excitement to both. After dressing the two one-pound bass, Brian fried the fish in a cast-iron skillet for supper. They filled up on wieners and s’mores. Keith sorted through the gear for two baseball mitts and a ball to practice for the final baseball game.

The sunset’s orange and red colors filtered through the trees, before the shadows of the night melted into shades of gray.

“I can’t sleep,” said Keith, “I’m going to explore this deer trail. Maybe I’ll see a deer, or better yet, two raccoons fighting. Do you want to come along?”

“Yes. I do. But I’ll get my flashlight. I charged it before we left.”

“We don’t need a flashlight.” Keith looked up at the sky. “There’s a full moon tonight.” He strode off down the hard, compacted path rather than waiting.

Brian—who memorized verses every day—remembered the verse he read this morning.  Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.” He did not understand why God brought that to his attention. He picked up his jacket and the flashlight.

He prayed a short prayer as he started after Keith. “Father, help me keep up with Keith. Keep us safe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

At first, the moon shone bright enough the flashlight was not needed. The moonlight illuminated the tent, glinted off the lake where they fished, and even showed the flattened grass where the boys played catch.  

The number of trees increased, gradually shutting off the moonlight until no moonlight could be seen. Brian hung onto the flashlight and felt relief for remembering to charge it before leaving home. He sighed since Keith’s head-start kept him from catching up in the dark.

“Owww! That hurt!”

“Keith, is that you? Are you hurt?” said Brian, as he trotted toward the voice.

“Yes. It’s me. My toe hurts. Shine your light over here so I can see what I stubbed my toe on.”

The light landed on a rock big enough for Keith to sit on, who then took off his shoe and rubbed his toe.

Smaller rocks surrounded the big rock, enough to fill the path. The small, close-set trees prevented going around the rocks.

Searching for a path through the rocks. Brian passed the light several times over the pile. “If your toe pain has subsided, I think we can scramble through here.”

The light wiggled over the gray-brown rocks, which crunched as the teenagers scaled the rock mountain. Their feet almost slipped several times, but balancing with their hands, they made it to the other side.   

Keith held out his hand and said, “Give me the flashlight.”

Brian said, “I should go first. I am the one who remembered the flashlight.”

“It was my idea to follow this path, so I should go first. Give me the flashlight.”

Brian rolled his eyes and let Keith have the flashlight.

Keith grabbed it and shone it straight ahead rather than at the path. For a while, the hike was easy.

Suddenly, he felt his right foot pulled out from under him. “My foot!” He landed with his back to the ground.

Brian picked up the flashlight—which still gave off a bright light—to look at Keith’s foot. “Here’s the problem. You stepped into a snare meant for a rabbit.” He set the light down to loosen the rope, then pulled the foot out.

“This makes me think,” said Brian as he straightened up, “about the verse where God plucks my feet out of the net. You would have been in trouble without my flashlight.”

“Again with the verses? Don’t you ever get tired of them?”

“No. They prevent me from developing problems. If you had shone the light on the path, you would have seen the rope snare.”  

“You can take the lead with the flashlight, if you’re so afraid,” said Keith, tauntingly. “I know I’m not afraid to go on.”

“I’m not afraid.” He hesitated but considered how to show he was not scared. “Keep the flashlight.”

Farther on, a black, irregular mound covered the trail. The closer they came, the more obvious it became that broken branches were piled over the path from a fallen tree. When they cleared the branches, the light shone on a second path.

Keith smiled. “Are you in the mood for an adventure?”

“You mean this second path?” Brian smiled. “Sure.”

Keith led the way onto the second path, still pointing the flashlight straight ahead.

Brian looked around because he sensed something was wrong. Being behind the flashlight, he could not see much. Deuteronomy 5:32 came to mind: “not turn aside to the right hand or to the left”—like the second path.  

The feeling increased in intensity. “Keith, stop. Something’s wrong. Shine your light to the sides of the path.”

Keith did so. On each side, sharp rocks lined a deep gully.

“We have to go back.”

“We’ll be alright. We have your flashlight. Nothing exciting has happened. I want something to remember more than a sore toe.”

Brian debated back and forth what to do. He wanted a memory too, but he wanted to stay safe as well.

“Bri-an!”

“Oh, alright, but we have to take it real slow. And you have to shine the light in front of your feet as well as straight ahead.”

“I can live with that.”

They continued by taking slow steps as the path became narrower. Keith kicked away a few branches and rocks and took a step. His foot went deeper than he expected, so the downward motion almost sent him falling. Brian grabbed him by an arm and pulled him up. Keith regained his balance. The path ended in a sharp drop-off to a ravine.  Both boys remained silent for a moment.

“I’d be in that ravine, if you hadn’t sensed trouble,” said Keith. “How did you know?”

“I remembered a Bible verse to make me believe we were on a wrong path.”

“I hate to admit it, but I needed the help of your flashlight.”

“Let’s go back to the deer trail we started on and continue from there.”

“I don’t want to climb over those rocks again to get back to camp. My toe is sore enough as is.”

“I don’t either. I thought I saw a light at the end of that deer trail. It might lead us to someone in a farmhouse who will take us back to camp. Just think.” Brian smiled. “We will have a chance to tell how a verse and a flashlight saved our lives.”  

This story is based on Psalms 119:105, KJV Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.