My Lenten Devotion
… because the
darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. 1 John 2:8b
The
year following my husband’s death was full of activity, but shrouded in fog. I
was alone now. It was up to me to fulfill the plans we had already made. I sold
our home, bought another one close to my mother, and orchestrated my move from
Pennsylvania to Michigan. I seemed to be doing everything right as I joined and
became involved in church and jumped into community activities. Staying busy
kept the darkness at bay. I knew in my head and in my heart that God was still
with me, but I couldn’t feel His presence as I had before.
Then,
about a year later, driving up the hill toward my new home in the late
afternoon, I was struck by the panorama spread out in front of me. The sky
seemed to be exploding with fluffy, silver rimmed clouds. I pulled over to
watch as the clouds moved past, slowly revealing the bright light of the sun
that had been there all along.
Be still and know that I am God. I closed my eyes and felt God’s
light in my heart as warm as that sun in the sky. It had been there all along,
of course. I had let the clouds of worry and grief and busyness block it. I
needed the vision of sun and clouds to remind me that, while I had been trying
to figure out and create my new life, He was there, even when I couldn’t see
Him clearly, guiding and helping me all along the way, and ready to give me
back the joy of his presence as soon as I could quiet myself enough to accept
it.
Thank
you, Lord, for your Light that can pierce every darkness.
