Daily Light: Reflections for Holy Times - Night Light
Night Light
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
- Revelation 22:5
Today we end the year 2020. At the beginning of the year, COVID-19 was something "over there." Not long into the year, COVID-19 became a pandemic reality for us as it spread to the United States. And today, on the last day of 2020, a new and more contagious strain of COVID-19 has emerged and is creating new alerts.
Here we go again.
This COVID dark night that seemed to be lifting with the arrival of the vaccine has issued a new challenge. There is more for us to learn about ourselves as we make camp in this dark night again.
Welcome dark night.
Perhaps we are realizing more fully that, living on this side of the garden, part of us is in dark night while part of us is in the light. Resisting the dark night is our need to control the process. Welcoming dark night invites us to let God be in control of the process. I am learning more fully this meaning of "self control" Paul names in the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). I choose to release my need to control and let God be in control.
One thing I know, every campsite needs a campfire.
Early on, humans gathered around the fire. The fire was placed in the center for all to gather around it. The fire was life-giving: warmth, food, sanctuary. The earliest community gathered in a circle around the fire for light and life. As we place God in the center of our lives, we receive the same provisions spiritually: warmth, food, sanctuary. God is the builder of the fire, the starter of the fire, the very fire itself. It is our invitation to sit around the fire and receive what is being given.
There is a lot I don't know about the path of virus and what will happen over the next few days, weeks, months, and years. I do know that placing God in the center of the dark night, inviting me to release my need to be in control, is the way we will get through this together.
Let's gather around the campfire together with only one expectation for 2021. God will give us the Light.
Lil Smith
RH Co-founder
Spiritual Director and Supervisor
Author