16 November 2008

Greetings Friends,

This time of the year it can be difficult not to think of darkness. The scenery is pretty barren by now – the bright colors of early autumn are all but gone, most of the crops have been harvested leaving us with brown as the most abundant landscape color, cloudy days seem to be more abundant, and my goodness nightfall comes so early in the evening! Some say the days are getting shorter. When I hear that phrase, I can’t help but think of a time many years ago when looking at the jam-packed work schedule for the day, I commented to a co-worker, “It’s going to be a long day”. This co-worker, without skipping a beat, replied, “Every day has 24 hours”. Well, yes, every day does have 24 hours. And yet, this time of the year most of those hours are in darkness – night time.

Sometimes the darkness we experience is simply that – the physical darkness of the night time. Sometimes the darkness may be the feelings of grief we are immersed in as the result of the death of a loved one or a loss of some other significant part of our lives – employment, a friendship gone sour, an illness, etc. Sometimes a feeling of being in darkness can be the result of a spiritual dryness we feel – a time when our usual way of praying or connecting with God just doesn’t feel the same and we may even wonder if God is really hearing our prayer. Times of darkness, no matter what has caused us to be in that “dark place”, can be a time of transition toward something new, an opportunity to rest and allow ourselves to simply be in the presence of God without words, a movement toward a new way of seeing and feeling and being light. One of the most profound realizations we can count on is that God is present with us in the darkness – God’s light is always there with us and for us. God’s deep and constant love is always available to us, is always with us and never leaves us. God’s love will draw us to the light.

In a couple of weeks we will embark on the Season of Advent – a time of preparation, a time of waiting, a time of anticipation of the coming of the Light anew. May we ponder all the ways God blesses us with love, care, comfort and strength empowering us to be light for others in all we say, do and are.

Peace on the Journey