I have been thinking so much about the disciples and how they must have felt that all was lost the day after "Good Friday." In their limited vision, nothing about that day had been good for them.
All was lost.
The future was hopeless.
There was nothing but grief and pain.
And yet...
They had no idea that Sunday was coming.
He had told them ahead of time but they didn't understand.
My thoughts have also been on another family who experienced great loss. My oldest son's birth family. I so vividly remember his precious birth mom saying that God had given up a son and He knew just how she felt.
Yes, He did.
I remember another day. Ryan was five days old and the adoption agency had arranged an entrustment ceremony. As it neared completion, the pastor gathered us around to pray over each family member. When it was Ryan's birth mom's turn, he began to pray. My arm was around her and I felt her sobs. My mind drifted...wondering...Would she regret her decision? When the days were filled with grief, would the sacrifice become too hard to bear? Would this burden be too heavy for a 17 year old girl and her family? And then...the words of the pastor penetrated my thoughts.
"And Lord, help her not to doubt in the dark what You have spoken in the light."
A simple statement but so profound that it has stuck with me ever since. There have been dark times in my life since then and I have remembered those words.
Lord, help me to remember that even when it is dark, You have taught me things when it was light. You have prepared me for the dark. You walk beside me every step of the way.
We may become very disoriented in the dark. We may be confused and in pain. Those are the times when we need to remember what He has spoken in the light. Just as Jesus' disciples misunderstood all that was happening to them, we sometimes do the same.
Take heart, my friends, because Sunday is coming!
