I Need More Light!

I kinda had to smile to myself today as I was preparing the dog’s breakfast.  I had poured a cup of his Purina Pro Plan into his bowl and was reaching for his daily prescription pill that helps with a skin allergy that tends to be prevalent amongst Austrian Shepherds.  As I unscrewed the top, I reminded myself to make sure that I didn’t take his medicine by accident.  I smiled because I had a few of those mishaps when I was caring for Piper.

The first time was actually quite funny… not then but later!  It didn’t take me long to develop a routine with her daily care and things were going pretty smoothly that day until I realized in disbelief, that I had just popped one of my blood pressure meds into her mouth instead of her Aricept Alzheimer’s pill.  Well, needless to say… the usually calm and composed Jim Berruto freaked out!

My first thought was that she was going to have some terrible negative reaction to the pill and suffer horribly.  So, without much pre-thought, I shoved my finger into her mouth and began to dig around for the little white pill.  You wouldn’t believe the look of shock on Piper’s face.  She didn’t utter a sound but her eyes opened wide and she seemed to be saying, “JIM!  What are you doing?”  But I kept foraging around, praying that she wouldn’t bite me (which I probably deserved!) and after three or four tries finally got ahold of it and pulled it out!  A few weeks later I related the story to Piper’s wonderful Neurologist in San Francisco, who immediately burst out laughing and said, “I don’t think that one blood pressure pill is going to harm her!”

A year or so later, I did the same thing… but this time didn’t panic and she was fine after swallowing it.  The weirdest one was when I accidently popped one of her Aricept’s into MY mouth and immediately swallowed it… thinking it was my blood pressure medicine.  You have to understand that there were a few mornings… okay, maybe more than just a few, where I was a little bit scrambled and exhausted from watching over my sweet little wife in her time of need.  There were times where I tended to do… before I thought about what I was doing!

Well, to make a long story short… Let’s just say that it was a weird day.  I ended up with a headache and feeling a bit agitated and dizzy.  But thank God, I was fine the next morning!  So, needless to say, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take the dog’s Apoquel this morning!  I am glad that I had the light of understanding about what I was doing today!

And speaking of light… I find that I have been thinking a lot about heaven this last year since Piper’s passing.  I did some research in the Bible to find out what God says about His home, and read a couple of books and reports about people who say that they had actually gone there and returned.  I’m a tiny bit skeptical about those reports because as far as I can see, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of Biblical evidence to back up what they are relating.  It’s not that I disbelieve them… I really want to… but I’m just weary about it.  But nevertheless, I think about heaven and what Piper is experiencing almost every day.

I sometimes find myself talking out loud during the day at home or in the car like she’s listening to me and I ask her all kinds of questions about what she sees, feels and does there.  It’s not that I am expecting her to answer… but it makes me feel close to her and dig deeper into my Bible to get some answers.

I was thinking about light this morning as I’ve noticed that I need to drop a light from the ceiling in the kitchen over the dining room set, in order to brighten things up for me.  The kitchen has ceiling cam lights that look great but don’t give me enough light to comfortably read my Bible at the kitchen table.  When I thought about that subject this morning, I immediately thought about the light in heaven.  Revelation 21:23 tells us that there is no need for either the sun or moon in heaven “for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (KJV)  I guess Piper and the others there never have to concern themselves with being able to see things clearly!

John 1:1 declares that, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Then a few verses down goes on to say, “He (Jesus) was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.  The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.” (John 1:4-5 God’s Word ©)  From reading these verses, one can safely deduce that Jesus and His Word (ie; the Bible) are one in the same.  Therefore, when we read and study our Bibles, we are receiving the LIGHT of wisdom and understanding from God Himself!  And on top of that Good News, the darkness in the world CAN’T overcome, destroy, steal or extinguish it from working in your life… if you stand firm in your faith in that WORD!

Right now, I put the light from the top of Piper’s piano on the dining room table so that when I want to clearly see what I am reading I twist the knob and turn it on.  When I want wisdom and direction from God, I open up my Bible and let its light shine upon my soul and then flow into my mind!  But first I have to take the effort to open it up and read it (or turn it on… sort of speak!).

How much of God’s light are you absorbing on a daily basis?  With me, I’ve found that the older I get, the more light I need… to see physically as well as spiritually.  How about you?
Have a great first weekend of the New Year and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to turn on the light of God’s Word into my life with greater regularity this year!”