The Gift of Darkness

Have you heard the phrase, “The night is darkest before the dawn”? How about the theory that evil lurks in the shadows? My recent favorite is, “There is a light at the end of this tunnel!” There are so many sayings and ideas that surround the topic of darkness and night. Well, I get to share my own idea of the darkness.

Darkness is normal. It is reoccurring. Darkness comes and darkness goes. Like the rotating door of sunrise and sunset, darkness is inevitable. It is unavoidable. Have I depressed you yet? A bit of a fun revelation on my part now: I love darkness! The night is so sadly misunderstood…

When I drove the paper route for the Fresno Bee, here in the central valley in California, I encountered so many things in the darkness of the night, and pre-dawn hours! Some things were un-nerving, scary even (some animals out here are weird looking), and some were strange sights, like the drunk man walking in the middle of the streets, giving everyone who passed by a thumbs up and a “Hey! Drive safe!” Others, however, were beautiful things. Things that could never be experienced in the light of day! These amazing discoveries in the darkness were not few and far between either! They occurred often, and it was a joy to encounter and experience them all!

In the darkness of night we get the amazing opportunity to observe the diamonds of the sky: the stars. 

this image found on google.com

On many occasions we will even get to witness the amazing sight of one of these superior, glittering objects as it releases from its suspension somewhere in the air of space, soaring across the black canvas of the night sky…but only in the dark can this be seen with the naked eye.

The eclipse of the full moon that occurs somewhere between 11pm and 5am every now and then…the amazing and breath taking event that captures the attention of people around the globe, as the moon appears full one moment and, over time, gradually becomes a deep, dark shadow, only to begin shining full again, sliver by sliver. Pictures that are taken of this marvelous sight show the background of a night sky…

Some of the most beautiful things happen at night, in the darkness. I like to say that the darkness doesn’t hide these things, but it enhances them.

To me the dark brings with it a sense of calm. Rest. When I step outside in the evening, and witness the setting of the sun, I recall past years when I would begin to cry or become weighted down, carried lower and lower along with the level of the sun, and I dreaded the night. I feared it. Now…I embrace what the night brings to us, what it is intended to give us: that rest and calm. Just like the child who is tucked in bed by the parent every night… we are in need of a rest period. It is not the night when we fight and battle against all odds, in our situations that life brings. No, it is in the night that we rest and take a breather.

Take solace in the gift of the night, the peace in the darkness. Embrace the metaphorical “tucking in” that we are blessed with after an exhausting day of fighting and trudging through the trails of life. Step off to the side of the trail, unroll the blanket and stretch out under the sparkling diamonds of the sky and breathe deeply of the crisp air, letting it cleanse and refresh, and rest…rest knowing that the night can be a place NOT of fear, but of rejuvenation. It is the gift from Above, to prepare you for the next day’s work. <3

And now…I shall close my computer and look up at the stars that I am sitting under now, and breathe deeply the fresh evening air. Tomorrow will be a good day.