The strength
Lights glow amid the darkened branches of a real live Christmas tree.
Colonial Williamsburg, December 2008
“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”
—Helen Keller
I’m not exactly sure how we’ve gotten through the past three weeks, but somehow we have. Some days are much worse than others, but all of them bring small reasons to be grateful. I can acknowledge that in my mind without feeling it in my heart, and that’s often what I end up doing. There are days when it’s all I can do to get out of bed, but it must be faith that enables me to keep going.
It’s not just my own faith that gives me strength, of course. That would, no doubt, be inadequate. There’s also the faith of so many who believe in us, pray for us and remember us with countless small kindnesses. There’s the faith by which Jeff lived his entire life, an enduring legacy that gives me something to strive for, and to cherish in memory. There’s the faith that eventually, somehow, the sorrow will be eased and the happy memories will eclipse the pain and anger and exhaustion and grief.
One of the many things I’m grateful for is the amazing community that has come together on this blog over the past four years. I see all of you out there, shining like points of light in the tangled darkness that so often surrounds me. As Misifusa says, Shine On! And thank you, so much, for being here.
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
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- Tagged: comfort, consolation, dark, death, exhaustion, faith, friends, gratitude, grief, hope, life, light, love, solace, sorrow, thankfulness
Defeat Despair 
That quote seem rather prophetic in terms of where the middle
East seems headed- along with everyone else.
Yes, we live in tumultuous times indeed. I keep reminding myself that other generations have survived and endured much. I pray we can do the same.
Verie’s cognitive issues are not getting better. History of ALZ in her family on her mom’s side. She has not been able to drive since last Xmas- which is frustrating for her.
My favorite quote of Helen’s which i recite often is the one about life,” being a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Security is not guaranteed.
Mike, that’s so true. As I often say, “Nobody gets out of this world alive.” Having said that, I try to be grateful for each and every day, even the really tough ones. I am so sorry to hear of Verie’s challenges. I can imagine that not being able to drive is difficult. I have been unable to drive after dark for years (since before Jeff died) due to poor night vision, and it does change one’s life in many ways.
Good morning, Julia!
I like Helen Keller’s quote.
I’m wondering about the “shattered world” now. Whenever she wrote or spoke those words, faith in God was more prevalent in the US than it seems to be, today. I wondered why, and thought of the parable of the seeds and the sower.
Where have we “fallen?”
I think we more often fall in brambles and weeds, as there is so much competition for our attention, both Sunday mornings and in general. The weeds are so much prettier and more enticing than they used to be, too! It takes quite a bit of dedicated effort to feed the faith that can bring hope to our shattered world.
I’m so thankful for YOU, Julia! Thank you for shining your light!
Susan, very astute observations about the parable and the “weeds” that entice us. Surely even those who have had little use for God must see now that things aren’t working out so well for us, disregarding the tenets of faith in favor of a hodgepodge of causes we embrace as surrogate religions that often pit us against nature, each other and most devastatingly, our Creator. I keep reminding myself of the words of Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Her words sound almost like something Gertrude Stein might have written, but I must admit, they have a calming effect if one accepts there is divinity behind the reassurance.