Welcome back to The Lemonade Stand for the 10th in our summer series on using whatever ingredients you have — the sour or the salty, the savory or the sweet — to find beauty in life.
[If you read no further in this post, please do take time to listen to the song linked below: “Even in the Dark of Days.” It absolutely gripped my soul when I first heard it. I had planned to write on another topic this week but can’t escape the conviction that someone needs these words of encouragement. You, maybe?]
Do you know how amazing you are?
No, really.
This is not one of those you’re beautiful, I’m beautiful, we’re worth it tropes companies use to pitch products we can’t afford and don’t need. I say this because I know you, the women and men who read and respond to my Tuesday letters.
You tell me things every week in your comments and emails—about the child whose spouse has turned on them or the one who never answers your calls anymore.
You tell me about the gut-churning medical diagnosis, the uncertain prognosis, and what that dang disease is doing to your brain as well as body, spirit as well as soul.
You tell me about the family members who claim you’re “toxic” because you have a differing belief system than the ones they’ve adopted, so maybe they shouldn’t let the grands near you.
But you also tell me . . .
That you know God is good, and he never changes. (Heb 13:8)
He can be trusted to fulfill his purpose for you. (Ps 138:8)
Things will turn out alright because he’s promised never to mislead you. (Ps 32:8)
You tell me these things not because I should mark your words but because you mark his.
My friend Karen says that sometimes we need a hug from God, and sometimes we need a nudge.
When I wrote last week about heaving myself up from my camp-chair to join the kids in the slippery creek, that was in response to a nudge. Maybe you need those too.
But if what you need today is that hug? I get it.
In her book The Night is Normal, author and songwriter Dr. Alicia Britt Chole notes that though faith shines best in full sun, it grows depth in the dark.
“Your night will not last forever. Within it, there is priceless treasure that’s simply too weighty to be sourced in sunshine.”
Please listen to this cry of a woman who has known dark days yet presses into the light:
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/track/7w4W6WRdQymcLyGg0m23Xi?si=0b9283e765934ebe&mc_cid=f95515e0e0&mc_eid=733532cb3c&nd=1&dlsi=dee9cf809dfd499f
"Then the day gave way to night
Oh, my God, the pain was frightening
And it felt like faith had failed
But Your love it did not bail
Because You're still good
Even when my faith is frail
You are still You
"Even in the dark of days
Even in the night of faith
Even when You hide Your ways
You are good"
- Even in the Dark of Days, by Alicia Britt Chole. Performed by ChiChi Onyekanne, with background vocals by Darlene Zschech.
As for that “how” I promised in the title of this letter?
It’s different for each of us, but we catch a clue from the apostle Paul, who urged us to follow his example, even as he was following the example of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). Despite a bloody past presiding over the elimination of people like us, he was totally transformed when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus in the form of blinding light.
Look at Paul, who directs our gaze to Jesus, and then look at the many Paulines and Pauls whose comments follow these posts. My brief letters soldier on each week, but the real firepower is displayed in those who share their life experiences in this space.
And if people think you’re amazing?
Oh, just wait ‘til they meet your Father.
- Maggie Wallem Rowe
Maggie Wallem Rowe is a dramatist and speaker who writes from Peace Ridge, her home in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The author of This Life We Share and Life is Sweet, Y'all, Maggie leans towards the Light but is learning to be content in twilight times as well.
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