Although today the sun is breaking through, soon it will be setting as the days are short this time of year. Some even call it the Big Dark and the longest night is coming on December 21. It's a time when light is precious.
And while most of us prefer light and the longer days (rather than long, dark nights), there is something to be said for the night season - both the physical season we experience each winter and the times of trial in our lives. There is a clarity to night that allows us to see what we can't understand when things are bright and sunny in our lives. While I don't revel in darkness and it can often be a difficult or discouraging time, it becomes abundantly clear what is important to us when we are faced with tough choices or difficult experiences. The darkness lets us see where our heart is focused.
I think of Mary, pregnant and about to be put away by Joseph, facing a night season. She must have clung to those words from the angel - trying to keep her faith that all would be well. That night season created the need for hope.
I think of Joseph, fresh off another angel message, wondering how he could reconcile the instructions to stick with Mary and his cultural rulebook. This whole situation took him off guard and his night season created the need for faith.
I think of the shepherds who saw the host of angels singing in the dark night. Would they have been able to take in the huge spectacle as completely had the sun been shining that day? It was in the darkness that Joy showed up and sent them running for an unknown stable like contestants on the Amazing Race. That night season created a need for action.
Are you experiencing a night season? I have found myself in one that crept up on me. And I'm finding that my night season is requiring me to live into hope, faith and action - whether I'm ready or not. My night season is creating a stage that allows the warmth and light of our community and God's presence and love to shine so brightly that I cannot ignore it. I'm walking gingerly through this time as wait for the Light of the World to show me my next steps. This is all not easy, but I'm comforted that God is with me (and with us) and the night season will not have the last word. We are not overcome. The Light has dawned.
John 1:4-5 (NIV)
"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."