When I was a little girl living in Indiana, we lived on a large farm in a tiny town (Medaryville).  The town was so tiny that one elementary school existed (Gilliam) and then everyone was bused to a consolidated middle/high school (6th to 12th grades) all together under one roof.  Gilliam was tiny with its one main hallway, and West Central (the high school) sprawled over a large expanse of ground with several corridors and classrooms.  As I attended the smaller elementary school, I watched as my older sister entered the larger school each day and was SWALLOWED UP BY THE SEA of other students. 

When I was a little girl living in Indiana, we lived in a tiny town on a large farm.  The farm was so large that dad and mom could work the fields, plowing, cultivating, planting, and harvesting—and stay in one field for an entire day.  I could stand at the edge of the massive field, watching mom ride atop the tractor as she pulled the disk across the ground, knowing that I had much time to play as she drove out of my sight and before she returned to my sight…..several minutes later.  As I played at the edge of the field, waiting for her return, I WATCHED AS I WAITED caught in the land of loneliness and a vast emptiness.

When I was a little girl living in Indiana, we lived in a tiny town on a large farm, and we slept, ate, and shared life in a large white-sided house.  Now in this house, there were four bedrooms-  2 downstairs and 2 upstairs.  My parents and little brother claimed the downstairs rooms, my sister claimed the largest, upstairs back-bedroom, and I claimed the smaller, pass-through front room.  What I should pause to say is that the upstairs rooms were under construction, so as I walked through my room toward my older sister’s room, I had to walk around the fireplace chimney and past the open door of the unfinished bedroom situated between her room and mine.
Due to the cold temperatures found in living in Indiana and sleeping in an unfinished, upstair’s bedroom, oftentimes, I stayed in my sister’s room when the weather outside blew those cold, Indiana winds that seemed to permeate through the house walls.
It is on those particular nights, when I became lost…..wandering around, lost inside my sister’s bedroom, trying with all might to find my way to the doorway, stumbling along, trapped inside the darkness, unable to see the clarity found a mere 12 feet away from my fingertips. It is on those nights whenever my bladder streamed for relief, that I found myself searching through the dark, trying to find my way out (of my bedroom), and  walking “zombie-style” with my arms outstretched in front of me, doing my best to not break my nose as I SEARCHED FOR THE LIGHT NEAR THE OPEN DOOR, that could only be found as I stumbled along in the dark.

• Where are we today?
• Where are we today in relation to God?
• Where are we going today?
• Where are we going (when we go, when we leave this world) in relation to our spirituality?
• Where do we call—home?
• Where will we go based upon our decision for God OR based upon our decision to ignore God’s call on our life?

Today, we may be living in the land…….a large expanse of land—SWALLOWED BY A SEA OF PEOPLE—WATCHING, BUT WAITING—SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS, and continually SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT FOUND IN WALKING THROUGH THE OPEN DOORWAY. 

When I was a little girl, living in the land of Indiana…..I was lost, I became weary, and oftentimes, I was so afraid as I stumbled along, trapped inside my darkness.

Yes, I was lost; I did not know Jesus as my Savior.

Maybe you can identify with me today…..when I was a little girl living in the land of Indiana.

The prophet Isaiah wrote to encourage the people……who were also living in a large expanse of land—-SWALLOWED BY A SEA OF PEOPLE—-WATCHING, BUT WAITING. These people the prophet spoke to were SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS. He wrote to encourage the people to SEARCH FOR THE LIGHT, telling them tha the light could only be found in WALKING THROUGH THE OPEN DOORWAY to reach their FREEDOM.

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and assent O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
Do you not know?  Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary”  (Isaiah 40:  27-31).

Do not remain….in the land of the living….caught within the huge expanse of the land…..swallowed up by the sea of people….BUT totally lost….stumbling along in the spiritual darkness….away from God.

• Today….See the LORD. 
• Today….Gain new strength. 
• Today….Mount up.  Run.  Walk.  Accept the Truth found in God.  Believe in God’s Son.  Confess our Sins.
• TODAY….BE SAVED….TO LIVE IN THE LAND OF PARADISE WITH GOD FOREVERMORE!!!