I am not going to write a post about the vaccination decision in California today.
I am not going to write a post about the legalization of gay marriage.
I am not going to write any kind of post in which I put forth an opinion in an effort to gain some kind of following or recognition, and I'm definitely not going to write a post in an effort to convince you that my way is right and your way is wrong.
I'm not going to. I promise. BUT...
Did you know that a 17 year old girl named Kodi died in my town on Sunday after driving into an embankment and rolling her car? 17. She was 17. Seventeen. As in still a child. 17.
Did you know that nine people died while at church in South Carolina earlier this month?
Did you know that a man in Japan set himself on fire earlier this morning while riding a commuter train, killing himself along with another passenger?
Did you know that there are babies born every.single.day addicted to methamphetamine, cocaine, or opiates?
Did you know that dozens of people died today during a plane crash in Indonesia?
Did you know that countless people have cancer, and are fighting a daily battle of life and death?
Did you know this stuff? I did.
... One of my favorite things about growing up in California is the sun. No, I'm not a sun-goddess. My fragile and pale skin has never stood a chance against the intensity of our sun-saturated sky. But I still love it.
Though I love the lake days and the sticky popsicle afternoons with kids, my most favorite thing is the early morning. The hours when the world is still quiet and I can just be alone and wait.
I wait as darkness looms all around. I wait, though there is a heaviness in the air, a stillness that seems as intractable as it is dense. I wait.
I wait, because eventually the moment comes when darkness gives way to a new day. The sky is painted the most delicate array of color. And in that moment, everything changes. I wait for that moment, because every single day the sun rises and I am reminded that the darkness doesn't last forever. The light always comes.
I know there are times when it feels as though the darkness before dawn will go on forever. Each of us will have moments, maybe even seasons, where the struggles of life threaten to overwhelm, to shake us from our safe and familiar bearings and walk us into the coldest, harshest places.
Light in those spaces can seem so foreign, so decidedly out of reach.
So here's what I'm doing my best to remember, on the bad days and on the good days, too.
- Hold on. Though everything in us feels as though there's no hope, joy comes in the morning. Your joy will come. It may not feel like it today, but just as sure as the sun rises and sets, you can be sure that this too will pass. Darkness cannot last forever. Trust that there is light beyond the darkness. Morning is coming. and it will be better than you can possibly imagine.
- Listen. When I am going through a difficult season, often my only focus is getting out of the season. I long for relief. If I could, I'd put on my running shoes and run as far and as fast as possible away from pain. But no matter what, we've got to listen. What are you teaching me, Father? How are you refining me? We can find purpose in the pain.
- Be compassionate and truthful. Sometimes when the light is dim and hope seems so far away, we have the tendency to be seriously critical and condemning. Our thinking becomes both extreme as well as negative. It is crucial that we begin to be compassionate and truthful. The truth is that His banner over us is love. His light reaches into the deepest, darkest places. He is our light and our salvation. We are completely and fully loved by God.
If you are struggling today, I promise you that the morning is coming. Just hold on. Just listen. Just be compassionate and truthful.
Light is made brighter and more brilliant when it is displayed against the backdrop of darkness. His light will be made more breathtaking and miraculous against the backdrop of your night. He can take all darkness and transform it into light.
Trust Him.
Even in the midst of the darkest nights, there is a sunrise coming.
