Our brains can keep reminding us. ‘My Sin is Ever Before Me’ writes the poet, but what if we had a purifier? It’s ever before me. It’s in my face. If there was a common theme, I get from many of those who email me it is the sense […]
darkness
17 posts
It’s a broken world where we desperately need hope, but God is compassion, and so we get to live again. The other day I found some mouse droppings in my kitchen. Concerned about the hygiene of the kitchen, I set a trap. Peanut butter would be the temptation that […]
We pick them up. Little hurts, big hurts. But how do we learn not to keep a record of wrongs that clogs the arteries of our life? I visited a friend the other day, and they invited me into their home. As we wandered from room to room, everything was […]
We can get angry to the point where we want to curse the day we were born, but being held in our anger allows us to go through and not around the pain. It was about time they got angry. As the words vomited at me, through me, and around […]
When you are living in the shadow, you may feel unseen, but that place of the hidden may be the best place to be, so let’s make the most of it. One of my favorite plants lives in the shadows. It can live in full sunlight but does best and […]
They were sitting with sadness, and life was fading away, but once they recognized its presence, they could accept it and learn from the shadow. Do you like shadows? When I’m working out in the sun’s heat, a shadow provides a respite. A place away from the intensity of light […]
People can say some harsh things to us, but when someone close says ‘Curse God and Die’ you have to go to a deeper place of faith than they possibly have. I was watching him wilt. He was once like a flourishing plant, enjoying water and sun and growing and […]
Emotional pain can lead us to some very dark places, but embracing the pain may open doors for the Christ light to come and eat with us. It was another email of pain. I looked at my inbox, and someone had sent me an email in response to my ‘God, […]
Many people fear that God will leave them, but you have a very good reason why this will not happen. God has a reputation to uphold. A reputation of perfect love. Deep, deep down, I think one of my greatest fears is that of abandonment. That I will be kicked […]
Plans and blueprints give us a sense of certainty, but it’s in the fog of relationships we need something more. Signposts offer us a direction, a relationship of trust, an ancient path. I wanted him to tell me what to do. Give me advice, a plan, a blueprint, a map […]
When we keep looking at the mountain of struggle, we can feel crushed, but when we know someone greater than the mountain is with us, we can find the help we need. Mountains move when we meditate on God’s goodness. Where I live, I’m surrounded by mountains. They’re not very […]
The noise of our world will never fully satisfy, but when we learn how to listen for whispers, we find a safe place for the soul. I wonder when the first sound was made? Was it a big bang or the quietest of whispers. As the sound waves vibrated out, […]
The darkest valley can become a suffocating tomb, a hole that feels impossible to dig oneself out of, but with the help of others, a step can be made, and light can shine again. Recently I went to see ‘Tolkien,’ a movie about the author J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote classics […]
The shame of an attempt at suicide can cling onto you like the odor of some dirty old socks. You would do anything to get rid of that stench. Is that a good description of shame? That feeling of embarrassment at what you have done. You want to hide, run, cover it […]
‘Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never harm me’ is a fallacy. Words can hurt. They can cut right to the core of your being and can echo around and around in your mind and drive you to despair. Just think of the abuse of text bullying. […]
Helping someone who is suicidal? You’re worried, fearful, but there are things you can do. Learning this 6 keys will help. Suicidal thoughts, feelings, and a desire to die can become overwhelmingly strong. But you can help people to move through this. You can learn how to help. They reach […]
It was a shadow, in the background, going unnoticed. It was a Shadow of Light. Weird really, but a shadow it was. You couldn’t touch it but it was surely there. Light normally fills a the dark room, creating the shadows, but this was different. It was a Shadow […]