The Dark Days

Originally published March 22, 2010

Living in the Seattle area causes a sort of depression that people don't feel coming on. It's because at first, you have a cloudy day, then another. No big deal. It isn't until the 20th cloudy day that you notice that you and everybody else is a littler more irritable. Some people get it bad.

I've heard of people just hopping a $50 air fare to Vegas - or others start a February/March annual mecca to Hawaii. What are they missing? It's the sun. It isn't the rain in Seattle that gets people - it's the lack of sun.

I like the way the author puts it in today's http://powertochange.com/blogs/experience/devotionalformen/ he notes that the Sun doesn't go anywhere just because the clouds appear. John Piper also makes a nice note of saying the sun is not the author of darkness. But if we didn't have the sun we wouldn't know what darkness really was.

If you have ever been to the Pacific Northwest, you know that when the clouds part, it is the most beautiful part of our country. From one vantage point, you can see two to three snow capped mountain peaks, two mountain ranges, a beautiful body of water, and a lovely city skyline. As if that wasn't enough to take in, the sky seems to be more radiant blue than anything you've seen before.

Those moments are AWESOME! And for many people that live in that area, it is a wonderful reminder of why you would choose to live there.

Isn't my spiritual walk much the same? I live for those moments of praise. Those moments of seeing a young one come to Christ or someone else make a public declaration of their decision in the act of baptism. How about when your son or daughter "gets it" and they ask for forgiveness. Or when they pray.

Many times, my life is walking under clouds. But I know there are beautiful things behind the darkness. My faith is sure of the things I cannot see. And this brings me hope of those AWESOME days in the future.