Last night we witnessed a total eclipse and today is the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere…the shortest day of the year. We often live in similar moments, even seasons, when the darkness seems to overtake the light.
Darkness that has settled in our souls can overshadow any glimmer of hope.
Living by faith is not easy, to be sure. Every day confronts you with another reason to doubt that God loves you and has a future for you filled with hope. Yet so much of life, and the hope that we have, is not found in what we do, but in learning to be grateful for what God is doing. “Let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned.” (1 Cor. 7:17)
This means receiving the life Jesus died to give and releasing the life we thought we wanted.
One of my favorite authors, Craig Barnes wrote, “To this day, whenever the community of Christ gathers, it is as community of interrupted lives. Some of us, like Elizabeth, have discovered life isn’t what we had settled for. Others, like Mary, have discovered life isn’t what we had hoped for. All of us have discovered that when a Savior is in our midst, life isn’t limited by our despair or our hopes.”[1]
Faith is the choice, in the midst of the darkness, to press into God and find that he has been waiting for you.
[1] M. Craig Barnes, An Extravagant Mercy, (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Publications, 2003)
Gail Johnsen 
Great insights, Gail! Beautifully written, too. Thanks for sharing, my friend!