There is more to this life than heaviness,
so deep in my bones I can barely take another step.
There is light.
I’ve seen its glimmer through the fog.
There is morning. There is hope. There is dawn.
There is love.
I see it in His nail-pierced hands.
I do not understand it,
I do not deserve it,
but I see it.
There is beauty in the meadows, on the mountains,
when I gaze upon the stars at night, when I hold the
strong hand of the one I love, of the one who loves me.
I’ve felt forgiveness in my mothers embrace.
I’ve watched my Father carry faithfulness on tired and weary
shoulders, every day that I’ve been alive.
I’ve heard joy in the laughter of a child.
I’ve seen kindness in the eyes of a stranger.
And I’ve known the truth.
I’ve known there is a comfort that is worth the pain.
There is a love that endures all things.
There is a goodness that will triumph in the end.
Even when I do not see it, yet I believe.
For yes, there is a maker;
a shepherd, a savior, a friend.
I cannot see him.
On days like today, I do not even feel him.
But like light, like beauty, like love
like forgiveness, I rest in the evidence of things not seen.
My Lord and my God, he lives.
I feel him through the cold.
I hear him through the thunder.
I see him through the fog.
The darkness is greater than the light for now,
but I still follow its glimmer.
I still hope.
I still believe.
It would have been my aunts birthday this week. But cancer took her.
It may have been thousands of other peoples birthdays or anniversaries too. Businessmen. Firefighters. Moms. Dads. But the twin towers fell and those people never lived to see another birthday, or anniversary, or just the seemingly “mundane” days that come between. This week I remembered the loss of my aunt, and I felt a bit of the grief our country experienced on 9/11, and is still experiencing today. Also this week as our nation rose awareness for suicide, a pastor took his life. This week was heavy. I could almost hear God weeping.
And yet, I still have hope. Despite all this, I still believe in a loving God. He embodies love, as well as justice and righteousness and power. He is all light. In him there is no darkness at all. Every good and perfect gift is from my God and in him we find true rest for our souls. In him we find peace and answers to the darkness and the fear and the pain that’s in our world, and in us. My God is the way and the truth and the life, the Messiah, the King of Kings who died to redeem us. He. is. good.
I know its been a rough week. I know the darkness can get overwhelming. But there is light, dear soul. There is. If you can’t see it, keep looking harder. Keep reaching higher.
