The first thing I noticed about the morning was the thick layer of fog that obscured the view of the golf course behind our home. I thought it interesting, so I took a picture. An hour later in the light of day, the presence of the fog was even more pronounced. I deleted the first picture and saved this one.
The outside view triggered the words of Eugene Peterson in his modernization of 1 Corinthians 13:12: "We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!"
As I sat down at my computer to write my morning thoughts, I got side-tracked by an email I received from a friend. He had sent me his annual Christmas letter. The content of his letter tugged at my heart strings.
Life isn't always filled with things that are cheery and bright. Life can change in an instant. The communication of news that emotionally knocks one to their knees and forever changes their world come from any number of sources. It may begin with the ringing of the telephone in the middle of the night. It could follow the sound of the doorbell and the discovery of a stranger on the other side of the door. Sometimes it is the flashing lights of an ambulance parked in your drive. The circumstances all differ, but the results are the same. Suddenly and abruptly, the overwhelming sense of loss and emotional pain make it difficult to catch one's breath or even want to take the next step or face a new day. Living with an empty chair isn't easy.
My friend included information in his Christmas letter that underscored the reality that life isn't always filled with things that are cheery and bright. From the resources of his memory, he wrote about circumstances that brought him to his knees.
He was in a deer blind of all places when his world went haywire. A honking car horn and the sound of his name being yelled from a distance garnered his immediate attention. Without full knowledge of what was taken place, the deer he had previously sighted in the scope of his rifle was no longer important. The person calling his name provided him the news that he needed to telephone home.
His Christmas letter included the sense of urgency that filled his head as he drove to a station and borrowed a quarter to make a collect long-distance telephone call. It was then that he learned the news that his sister had died. She had taken her own life.
As he described his circumstances in his letter, I thought about thick layer of fog that can obscure our vision and fill our lives with pain. Over five decades ago, I was there, I knew that feeling. My vision was filled with a layer of fog that made it difficult to want to take the next step.
Some of you may be in those circumstances now. It may not be the death of a loved one, but the source of your pain could come from any number of circumstances. Ultimately, the message of Christmas is subsequently a source of hope. It brings with it the message that God is love and that love is the source of healing and hope.
All My Best!
Don
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