Good morning…
So deeply loving her book Gift Of The Red Bird, I joined author Paula D’Arcy for a weekend at Ignatius House Retreat Center in August of 2015. Many who had loved boldly and lost abruptly came to be with this vibrant woman, a woman who was not only standing, breathing, and living on after the 1975 death of her husband and their first daughter, but also a woman who was healing, thriving, and helping others to heal and thrive after their own significant loss.
On the final day of the three day retreat, I asked Paula to sign my tattered copy of her beloved book. I will always cherish the words she wrote.
“For Sue – Even the darkness is held by light. – Paula D’Arcy”
And for a reason I cannot remember, I wrote beneath her signature, in my own handwriting, a quote by Tagore.
“Death is not extinguishing the Light. It is putting out the lamp because the Dawn has come.”
If even the darkness is held by light and we know that eventually Dawn will rise upon each of us, then we make peace with …the message we heard from Jesus and now declare: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all (1 John 1:5, NLT). May it be said of you and me, just like Paula D’Arcy: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined (Matthew 4:16, NLT).
…Sue…
