Blessings in Dark Times

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Sometimes there seems to be no peace at all. Sometimes it seems as if the whole world is an ever expanding asylum filled with insane and violent people. There are the insane who seek to harm and the insane who seek to blame. Both are equally crazy.

Today, I'm tired and depressed and filled with a longing to go somewhere that these things do not exist. A place where there is no one wanting to destroy as many lives as possible because their own are so empty and meaningless. I'd like a place where people still wave from the porches, hold doors, smile as they pass with no ulterior motives beneath it. I remember a time that if  I broke down beside the road I was not afraid to ask a passing car for help. And they weren't afraid to stop and help. I remember when I knew the phone numbers of all the neighbors, and could call if I thought I had a prowler. Yes, there were bad people but there were more good people than bad.

I am so blessed to have grown up in a nation that these were common things when I was a child. I'm thankful that I remember a time like that. I wish it still existed but I'm thankful I knew it. I'm sad my children have a vague sense that there was a time like that. But I'm sad that my granddaughter will see only violence, hate, and vengeance. How sad that those who are responsible will pass it on to their own children, thus is can't ever end.

I can only give praise to an almighty God for His love and care during dark times. I know that those who are suffering loss will not feel thankful. They will not see light. They will not feel peace. For months and years they will suffer the torment of a loss that can never be replaced. There is no fix for that pain. But the human spirit has a way of clinging to hope. Over time you learn how to step from the darkness into the light. The dark never leaves, it is always beside you. But even in the dark, great darkness, God is there. I am thankful that is He is.

"The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness." 1 Kings 8:12 

"Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Ps 97:2