Devotionals

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What to do in the darkWe are a people who try to avoid darkness. Artificial light has banished the shadows and extinguished the stars. In spiritual matters, darkness is seen as a place of evil, regression, failure, confusion and suffering. Our ancient brothers and sisters described a place called the "dark night of the soul" where consolation has abandoned us and we are left crying, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken me!" But try as we might with pills, politics and an endless parade of distractions, the darkness will not be banished. So where can we turn when we feel forsaken on the crosses of life?

What to do in the darkness
By Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

Go slowly
Consent to it
But don't wallow in it
Know it as a place of germination
and growth
Remember the light
Take an outstretched hand if you find one
Exercise unused senses
Find the path by walking it
Practice trust
Watch for dawn

Marilyn McEntire's poem, "What to do in the darkness" appears, at first, to be rather simplistic. It seems to be little more than a list that is rather short on concrete images, rhythm, alliteration or the other marks of the craft. But that turns out to be the key. McEntire's poem is the very mood of darkness. It is a poem offered, knowing full well how the hard places will not yield to fancy flourishes, trite philosophy or spiritual sentiment. Darkness requires simplicity. She see's no need to "wallow in it" or embellish it. Instead, she gives us light in a dark form - a luminous darkness. Her poem is an "outstretched hand" offered in the hope that we will embrace the darkness as a gift, meant to soften the hard ground for new seed. It is a place to discover parts of our spiritual life that can grow stiff in times of health, certainty, and abundance. God is both the Lord of light and darkness and gives us power to do more than just survive or bypass the shadows that come across our fields. McEntire offers the gift, but "go slowly", she says; let each tear, doubt and fear have its moment. The darkness has its own crop of blessings that requires patience to take root and open eyes to see its blossoms.

"There is no dawning save for the path of night." said Kahlil Gibran. You are not alone. You are not abandoned. The sky in the East will begin to glow and you will find that your God has been beside you all along, molding you into something new and uncomparably beautiful.

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