Towards the Real Light

"Too many of us panic in the dark. We don't understand that it's a holy dark and that the idea is to surrender to it and journey towards the real light." ~ Sue Monk Kidd

I am preparing an Advent retreat for the L'Arche community here. I am playing with the themes of being both human and divine, gifts, and stars. I think I am going to use this quote as part of the day. There are days when we let the dark overcome us, and we forget that the Light came so that we would not be. Sometimes though, we stand in a dark that transforms us because we encounter our humanity, our frailty, and our shadow. If we can surrender to it, we can learn lessons that we might not otherwise learn if we flee from the dark.

I want to journey to the real Light, the Light that heals me, that changes me at my core, that helps me to embrace my humanity while helping me to comprehend that I come from the Divine, created in God's image. I find myself in a dark forest some days confronting my humanity but I have to see the beauty of that, too. I have to look for the cobwebs that catch a glint of the Light and make me gasp at their beauty. I have to wonder with awe about the mysteries I discover in this place where Light must struggle to penetrate. Mostly, I have to believe that this holy dark place is not my destination; it is simply part of a journey on my way to the final resting place.

Believe. You are still on the way to a bright place of real Light, where Love lives.

Peace,

Suzanne