So Dark & So Light

I sat on the beach with my friends, savoring a once-common-but-now-rare moment of worshipping through song, scripture, sharing, and prayer.  I wouldn't begin to assume that I could capture the moment better than any poet in history has tried, but it's true that the waves sang along and the stars twinkles with harmony and all the overly-romanticized images of the quiet beauty were real.  Especially the moon.

Even though it was only halfway exposed, the moon shone incredible brightly.  Each half was a perfect ying and yang, so dark and so light, split exactly down the middle.  I identified with that moon: I am so dark and so light.

One friend read from 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord.  And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more."

The four days I spent with my friends was a well-savored treat because life is pulling us in many different geographical directions.  In this state of heightened senses, I saw so clearly the shining radiance of God and also the great darkness in the lives of myself and my friends.

Although there are many places that we have not allowed God's light to touch yet, the brilliance of the ways we do reflect is not diminished.  If even a sliver of the moon is exposed to reflect the sun, that sliver reflects just as brightly as when the whole moon is reflecting.  Our darkness, our not-yet places, do not diminish the brilliance of the places already surrendered and transformed.

The time we spent together expressed a more full and mature beauty because heaviness and joy were found comfortably side by side.  The vulnerability is real and not just hyped-up emotion; the joy is real and not just escapist happiness.  The only thing that comes to mind to close out this musing is this: A light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.