this I will miss

"Because of your great compassion 

 you did not abandon them in the desert.  

 By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, 

 nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take."                                                                                Nehemiah 9:19


Often we want to be able to see into the future. 

We say, "How will next year be for me? 

Where will I be five or ten years from now?" 

There are no answers to these questions. 

Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: 

what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. 

The art of living is to enjoy what we can see 

and not complain about what remains in the dark. 

When we are able to take the next step 

with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, 

we can walk through life with joy 

and be surprised at how far we go. 

Let's rejoice in the little light we carry 

and not ask 
for the great beam that would take all shadows away.
                      Henri J.M. Nouwen