Recently, a friends daughter has been near-death sick.
Now, there’s never a good time for parents to pace in fear, heart and hands cold with worry as their darling, their child hovers near the end of life.
However, the end-of-year holidays seems to be an especially obscene season in which to keep watch and to attempt to ward off illness and death.
My friends’ family’s world has been filled with hurrying to the hospital again and again; their nights lengthened by vigilantly walking antiseptic scented corridors hoping for a brighter diagnosis.
The larger world, it appears, also wrings it’s hands in fear and worry.
Consider some of the hot wars in the world right now.
- in Ukraine
- in Israel/Gaza
- in Sudan
- Syria was liberated from a despotic leader mere days ago
- in Democratic Republic of Congo
Other international crises continue to deepen:
- in Haiti
- in Myanmar
- in Yemen
- in Burkina Faso
- in South Sudan
- in Afghanistan
Against the backdrop of wars and conflicts the world over, Americans participated in an unusually bumpy and fractious voting cycle complete with the incumbent being strongly encouraged to step down mid-process.
Having declared his intention to run for the top political office, and, closer to the truth, President, then candidate, Biden was, essentially, driven from the race by his own party.
When Vice President Harris, having secured the Democrats’ nomination following President Biden’s stepping aside, concurrently and successfully raised millions of campaign dollars in days it was widely thought that she might have a good chance of winning the election.
by NASA HQ PHOTO is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
Finally, the horror of then candidate Trump’s having survived 2 assassination attempts, rocked the nation and, arguably, helped re-write the national political landscape.
As some Americans eagerly anticipate President Elect Trump’s second term in office they look forward to Mr. Trump’s and his teams’ leadership as well as the fulfillment of his campaign promises.
Some of those promises include:
- the mass deportation of undocumented persons who are also participating in illegal activities to start in the cities of Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio;
- No taxes on Social Security income;
- “Replace” Obamacare; and to
- Expand the child tax credit, among others
- According to NPR,
“In fact, this year’s popular-vote margin is the second-closest since 1968 and …. shows just how closely divided the country is politically.”
Then, of course, there is the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC.
The degree of vitriol poured on the health care industry generally and on Mr. Thompson in particular has been paradoxically surprising and predictable. It is also inexcusable and an indicator of the encroaching dark in our society.
Surprising because a man was murdered, during the day on a major street of a major national and international city in America.
Predictable because rage at the healthcare system, known for it’s delays of care and claims denials, has been roiling.
Of course, in this instance, that rage lethally “boiled over.” Sadly, grievously, Mr. Thompson’s murder was roundly celebrated1 in many spaces – not only the dark ones – of the internet.
When dark sashays out into the light, it’s an indicator of how deep and sassy the darkness has grown. We are drowning in the dark.
The best solution for dark is light
These are the words of an old man, the apostle John, who had once been in the dark but whom Jesus called to the Light:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 ESV
God is Light. You know what that means right?
God is holy (which means “set apart”: think of holiday or “holy-day,” which is a day that’s “set apart” for a particular celebration, that God is holy speaks to God’s “set- apartness” if you will: He’s not like you and me in some important ways), sovereign, all powerful, infinite, immutable to name a few of God’s attributes.
You may have heard someone personally or on the internet rage at God because of their suffering. They angrily lash out because of some injustice they currently, or, have suffered in the past.
The word that God is light underscores the fact that, while God sovereignly allows suffering, He does not author it.
In another book of the bible named for him, John the Apostle also said that;
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5 ESV
HOW encouraging- The light has broken through the darkness. Invincible Light!
Jesus, the Light of the world, encourages me to take heart despite all the growing dark out there.
My life is on a completely different path because Light has broken through my darkness.
More about the Light next week.
BTW – My friends’ daughter is better.
Still on the mend, though. If you are a person who prays, please pray for my her continued recovery. If not, I am sure that they would appreciate kind thoughts on their behalf.
Light Breaks Through!
xoxoKimberly
- I am purposely not linking any videos regarding the CEO’s murder though it is likely that you have seen some. ↩︎
Help! Love, MOM 
We’d love it if you’d leave a comment.