“God prepared me for this.”
I penned those words in my journal last night, and I know it deep in my soul. That doesn’t mean it’s painless or that I won’t have doubts. It will be difficult and scary, but it will be really good sometimes, too.
I’ve been in dark places before. And now I know God is with me in them.
I hear about others in their dark places and I remember.
I remember how it felt and what I needed my friends to say. Or not say.
What I hope and pray is, that because I’ve been in the dark, and may be in the dark again, I’m able to be with others in their dark places. That I won’t try to fix them. That I won’t say a cheesy positive-thinking mantra that makes them feel like they don’t have enough faith.
What I hope to do…..what Jesus did…..is be with them. Listen. Care. Love.
The story of one of my darkest seasons was published in an online magazine in 2017. I never meant for it to be published. The story is a mash up of three blog posts from 2015 and 2016 (I think), where I was trying to make sense of the dark.
Some parts of this story aren’t true anymore. But the truest parts will always be true.
Darkness Couldn’t Win – Shattered Magazine
Photo by Ankhesenamun on Unsplash