Deja vu

I have been here before

Standing on the edge of the cliff

Questions swirling around in my brain

Trying to muster the nerve to jump

 

I have been here before

Standing on the edge of the cliff

Feeling the nervous excitement

Willing myself to not jump to soon

 

I have been here before

Standing on the edge of this cliff

But the last time

I barely survived

The end nearly killed me

 

So

As I have been here before

Standing on the edge of this cliff

Gazing at the ride before me

I am

Terrified

Making the shadows disappear

Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend about his pending divorce.  The process has been going on for 20 months and has been a long hard battle.  He is understandably discouraged about the whole process.

He compared his separation to Lent, the church season leading up to Easter.

For those of you who are unaware, Lent is the 40 days prior to Easter.  It is a penitential time.  A time of sacrifice.  It is not intended to be a joyful time.  It is to be a time of preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Easter.

I reminded him that Lent isn’t forever and eventually ends with resurrection…new life.  And just like Lent, his divorce would one day be over, and he would have new life.

Tonight at choir practice, we were rehearsing music for Holy Week and Easter.  A lyric from our Easter anthem reminded me of the conversation.

“There’s a day that’s drawing near when the darkness breaks into light, and the shadows disappear, and my faith will be my eyes.”

It seems to me we always need to remember that in times of darkness, that eventually it will break into light and shadows will disappear.  And no, not just in a church-y kind of way.   Even if you are not a church goer, the fact is, darkness never lasts forever.  The sun will come out.  And everything will be bright again.

That can be hard to see in the middle of the darkness.  I guess it is a matter of faith.