“I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light.”
~ Barbara Brown Taylor
In Learning to Walk in the Dark, Rev. Taylor makes a case for embracing the darkness in our lives.
She's not talking about welcoming sinister darkness but about valuing the times we are in unknown territory. Perhaps we have experienced a great loss. Or we are
feeling at a loss and don't know why. We can't seem to see where we are or where we're going. We're feeling pain and confusion. Basically, we are "in the dark."
Most of us try hard to get out of such places and into the light of joy ASAP.
Watching an Oprah interview with Barbara Brown Taylor yesterday helped me to see differently. I am
encouraged to be truly open - open with curiosity blended with hope and faith - to all that I am experiencing now. For sure, facing cancer, I've learned a lot. And I know that there is more to discover in this post-mastectomy, healing place.
Wherever you are, valuable lessons await you.
There is always much for us to learn. Every day. Every night. In sunlight. In moonlight. Even on moonless nights.
May we be not afraid. For "there is a light that shines in the darkness, which is only visible there,” Barbara
assures.
In that light,
Charlene
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