Good morning…
I am not from here, this big, bustling city of Atlanta, Georgia. I was happily settled in the small Pennsylvania town of my dreams, walking to and from everything, with easy drives to extended family, loving and being loved by sister-like friends. Then, with the help of a group of diligently praying mothers and against my heartbroken will, God called my husband to return to minister to Atlanta’s Lovett School. One of the women who prayed us back to this community in 2003 has become an encouraging supporter of our written word ministry.
“Oh Sue,” she wrote after yesterday’s post, Savor Sabbath: Another Tragedy. “It does seem for you, as a counselor, and Steve, as a chaplain, you have been thrust in the midst of so many grieving families. But, your light is desperately needed for the families that are suffering and for the community which surrounds them.”
“The verse that came to me was John 1:4-5,” she continued. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” If we carry the life of Christ in us through his indwelling Spirit, we have the opportunity to be light in the darkness. Through your presence and through your posts, you are shining light. And though it seems we cannot take one more tragedy, the darkness will not overcome the light.”
She concluded: “Christ is the light and the hope we bring into every hopeless situation, to every dark night of the soul, to every grieving heart. His light is eternal. “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever”(Rev. 22:5). Praying for this heartbroken family, for your family and the friends who are grieving.”
If I had gotten my way, I would have nestled forever in the one stoplight town of New Wilmington, PA. Since God’s will trumped my will sixteen summers ago, now God’s light dawns daily through our online community, illuminating a path through this present darkness. As burning candles in the world’s blustery wind, we each carry the flame of eternal light, dispelling the dark in our complex corner of God’s grieving globe.
“Pay attention, my people.
Listen to me, nations.
Revelation flows from me.
My decisions light up the world.
My deliverance arrives on the run,
my salvation right on time.
I’ll bring justice to the peoples.
Even faraway islands will look to me
and take hope in my saving power.
Look up at the skies,
ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
the earth will wear out like work pants,
and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
my setting-things-right will never be obsolete (Isaiah 51:4-6, MSG).
…Sue…
