Darkness and light are always side by side. You cannot have one without the other. At this time of year we are aware of decreasing daylight as we move further into winter. I have been reading a book by Joyce Rupp called ‘The star in my heart’ and I was particularly struck by one chapter she wrote on darkness.

She explained that she found it difficult to believe that darkness could be a source of growth. Darkness for many of us is something we are not comfortable with. But even in our mother’s womb we had no light. It is where we stretched and grew wonderfully. For seeds to grow they must first be pushed into the darkness of the soil, so that germination can begin. Our planet would also overheat if we did not have darkness at night time for our planet earth to cool, especially during the summer months.

There are also destructive forms of darkness especially the darkness of evil. There is also the unfriendly darkness of hate, anger, depression, greed and exploitation that can wound us mentally, emotionally and spiritually. From a faith perspective we believe that God is our light and hope and is with us through everything including our darkness.

Joyce Rupp says: “If I look back on my life, to those dark times, I can see that I have or could have, grown deeper and wiser from my experience of the darkness.” The main point that I got from her book is that darkness can somehow be a moment of growth. If we remain constantly in darkness then it is not something good or positive. But there are times when darkness can be a moment of growth. So instead of running from a moment of darkness, we can possibly turn it into something positive, good and spiritual.

During these darker times of Covid 19 it is so important that we do not allow the darkness to overwhelm us. We continue to be people of light and we continue to be positive and hopeful. But even in the midst of darkness God is still journeying with us. No wonder Jesus said so many times: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”


Thought For The Week is updated each Monday