Delight in the Dark
An invitation to continue sharing delights
Sleep this week was on an every-other-night basis. I’m not sure why. Perhaps my changing body, perhaps some extra-sensory stimulation that rocked my nervous system, perhaps a journey in the dark to aid my contemplation around the first chapter of Selina Stone’s Tarry Awhile called “Darkness.” Stone writes an encouragement to encounter darkness with a new perspective, recognizing that God is at work in the dark and that it is in the darkness where we encounter God.
We are currently in the Christian season of Advent which is a waiting time. Many reflections for Advent include thoughts about waiting in the darkness, and Jesus is often referred to as the Light of the World. The light that permeates the darkness.
Today, I want to share with you two De-Lights I experienced in the dark.
This crooked and glorious tree and the flickering flames lighting my morning devotional time. Only in December do I get to start my day in the dark with the sparkle of Christmas surrounding me.
And this truth I experienced as God met me in my inner dark places this fall and that I was reminded of last week during spiritual direction:
God’s love for you goes beyond the hardest parts of your story. God loves you when you mess up and when you struggle to release the pain from things that have happened to you. God loves all the parts of you. God’s love is not a “despite” or an “anyway” kind of love. God’s love is an ALL the Way, with all the “things” known and included kind of love.
You are loved.
BONUS DELIGHT:
My friend Rudy sent me this video of a grandfather singing to his grandson who has down syndrome as another delight of his week.
Let’s keep collecting delights - post yours in the comments or feel free to email them to me and I’ll add them. Let’s let delight lead us into more love.