How do you appreciate the light in your life — those times when you can say, “All is well”? And what do you do when you are in the dark? - Daily Reflections November 29,2014

NIGHT WILL BE NO MORE!

 

There was a time in my life when no power lit up our home. It was some kind of an “in-between time” when our family was discerning whether to stay in the city for good or go back to simple life in the boonies. With just one ancient generator to light up our small and sleepy town, getting a connection to erratic and eternally fluctuating current took ages to complete.

       And so we had very long nights and very short days. When darkness set in, we could only get things done by the light of flickering sooty lanterns. There was not much else to do but sleep the night off. With the first crows of the rooster and the barking of the dogs at dawn, we were wide awake, but unable to move up and about until the first streaks of light appeared.

         The first rays were more than just a thrill. They were a call to life — a life that suddenly gets a fresh lease of energy and excitement at the coming of light. Oh, how we pined for that light and how we longed for the night to end. For us, darkness meant rest and respite from more than just toil. It was a time to dream, but not to do; a time to wonder, but not to wander. It was a time to reset one’s journeys, but not to restart one’s engines. It was fallow time that conjured up images of some kind of temporary death — or natural disability.

         This is why the Easter Vigil blessing of the new fire probably means a whole lot more to me than for those who grew up awash in light. In my life, I have experienced other forms of darkness. In my lowest moments, when dark seemed like the endless dark nights of yore, I pined for the dawn, like the watchman waits for daybreak.

       Today, I celebrate one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It consoles me as much as it convinces me that everything has an end, including long nights of desolation and darkness. It is a message of consolation and of hope, for me and for you: “Night will be no more …” “Behold, I am coming soon!” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How do you appreciate the light in your life — those times when you can say, “All is well”? And what do you do when you are in the dark?

 

Teach me, Lord, to appreciate both the dark and the light, for they have reasons for being.