Light in Darkness

It's time for the annual Advent post!  I want to start off by saying, thank you to all of you who read this blog.  Like for many of you, our holiday season gets pretty crazy, and most of the thoughts that run through my head are more of the "to do list" type than the "reflection" type.  (Like:  "Are Christmas cards still 40% off?  Did I get the right shade of lipstick for Ivy's holiday recital?  Did I get the white elephant gift for this gathering, make the cookies for that one?  What events will make this holiday season fun for the kids?!?"  Etc.)  It's easy to lose the forest for the trees, and so it's a gift to have this space to do a little reflection, and it's an even bigger gift to have people to share it with.  

This year, my Advent thoughts keeping turning to the idea of light in darkness.  So much of life can feel like darkness.  There's the times of waiting - for a diagnosis, for a job offer or a turn in finances, for answers.  There's the times of longing - for a partner or child or friendship, for a difficult situation to resolve, for physical and emotional pain to ease.  There's times of loss - death of loved ones, end of relationships, big changes that we did not choose.  It's hard to see the way forward, and it can feel like grasping around in a dark room.  

But it's in the darkness that light is so powerful.  I notice a full moon, or a sky full of stars, or a candle in a dark room, or the lantern in the tent, more than I take note of the blazing noontime sun.  It's the contrast - even a little light changes the scene entirely.  We notice and appreciate light more when it's breaking up darkness, rather than when it's adding on to an already well lit area, and what a beautiful thing the longed for light is.  

And then I think about how much light in darkness there is in the Christmas story.  There's the brilliant star that guides the wise men on their journey to see baby Jesus.  There's a multitude of angels that appear brightly in the night sky to announce the news to the shepherds.  These things to symbolize the biggest, most glorious, most hope filled light that Christmas brings:  God coming near, becoming human, in the form of a baby boy.  This baby fulfilling so many prophesies, bringing the answer to so many longings, relieving so much time in darkness.  That baby growing into a man, experiencing the darkness of this world with us, experiencing pain and loss and rejection of the deepest kind.  And through an excruciating death, followed by the resurrection and defeat of death and darkness, bringing the light of salvation.

If you're in a season that feels like grasping and longing - like darkness - I hope that the light of the Christmas season shines extra bright for you this year.  And for all of us, I hope that even amidst the hustle bustle, that there are moments where we see the beautiful light in darkness.