Midnight candles

Just before I study, I call home.

"What's the matter, Lance?" my parents ask me. I tell them I have two exams tomorrow, and I'm still unprepared. I ask them to pray for me; it fills my heart with inexpressible joy to know that my family members, though they may be miles away, continually commit me in their prayers.

"Don't worry, Lance," they tell me, "trust in the Lord and lean not in your own understanding."

I hang the phone ten minutes thereafter. I rush to my room, open my books, and burn the midnight candles.