It’s interesting to me that although Christmas and New Years are often deemed as celebrative points in life it is also that period of the year in which people sometimes experience times of greatest despair. Instead of a sense of joy and light, darkness and anguish threaten to envelope the soul.
How do you respond when circumstances and situations bring you into a dark period in your life? Wes, a friend of mine was diagnosed with a brain tumour in late summer. The initial news came as a shock to him and his family. Fear and uncertainty were their constant companions. Dinah, his wife decided to journal and blog their journey in this period of darkness. Both Wes and Dinah have a solid faith in the sovereignty and love of God. As I have followed her blog during Wes’ surgery and subsequent radiation and chemo treatment, I see a resiliency of faith, hope and courage. This in the midst of the gloom that threatens to shroud the reality of God’s love and care. I see an enlarged faith and increased strength to face life head-on no matter what the outcome will be.
Another one of our friends experienced the devastation of their 21 year old son’s suicide in October. As we met with them over the New Year we heard an incredible story of pain, anguish - a period of deep darkness and despair combined with resilient hope, courage and renewed confidence and trust in God’s sovereignty. They told of us of lessons they were learning which they could have learned in no other way. My wife and I understand much of that since we have been down that same road almost 8 years ago when we lost our dear 22 yr old son to suicide following a devastating bout with schizophrenia.
As I reflect on these experiences of pain and darkness in the rough places of life I recall a passage from the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 45:3: “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in the secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of
There is something to be gained in the dark periods of our life journey. If we trust in the God who has promised to care for us then He will also reveal “treasures” and “riches” in the least expected places. Author Gerald Sitzer in his book A Grace Disguised: How the soul grows through loss shares how the most difficult experiences of life can actually shape our soul. Like garbage thrown into the compost actually becomes the very thing that enriches the soil, so our periods of darkness can yield treasures that enrich our soul.
It is a strong faith in God and the sense of His presence that gives enabling strength. Both of our friends have stated that they don’t know how they could go through their experience without a faith in God. In the midst of their pain and darkness they are seeing new “treasures” that can’t be gleaned anywhere else. And they are experiencing God’s promise that He will “go before them and make the rough places smooth.” Isaiah 45:2
