Hope Born in Darkness

Posted May 24, 2022 by Jeannette Wilcock

Categories: Featured, Jeannette, Sister Post

Clouds sweep softly across the brilliant blue sky as if they were brush-stroked that morning. The sun shines high in the sky, giving the fresh new green grass a golden glow as the branches on the trees seem to stretch toward the rays and the buds swell ready to burst forth. All creation seems joyful this time of year as newness abounds. 

It’s hard to keep in mind the beauty we will see when the long winter hangs on, yet we know from past experience that this too shall pass and we will see a brighter day. 

In Waiting

I remember a dark time in my life when the tears welled up when I would see a mother holding her child, or the desire I would feel when I saw a woman pregnant with a child, or the longing that would arise seeing a little family. The barrenness of my body and my husband and my empty arms was a constant reminder of what we didn’t have. 

If God is the giver of life why would he keep this from me? It took many years of heartache to understand that God wasn’t keeping His goodness from me and that He had a plan to come forth in His perfect timing. The Bible says a day is like a thousand years to God. He is the creator of time and my thoughts are not His thoughts and my ways are not His ways. 

Life comes forth when the conditions are as they should be and in the timing that God has in mind. That is hard for me to accept at times! 

I remember the joy of finally becoming a mother after many years of waiting and heartache. The moment my daughter was placed in my arms, time stood still. We had smiles that wouldn’t go away. We were so prepared for this day and beyond excited that we couldn’t figure out how to buckle her car seat in! My husband and I knew that this child placed in our arms was the fulfillment of everything we had been hoping for.

Have you thought about the fact that all new life begins in darkness? Even hope is born in darkness. We can’t see how things will be and we must trust the process. There are things that are out of my control. 

New Life

Creation tells us this. The Bible says the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. God said, “let there be light.” And there was light. And so it goes with all new life that we wait for; we know it comes in its time and always from the darkness. 

I find that interesting. New life begin’s in darkness. We don’t see the new life growing in its mother’s womb for nine months, but  we can be sure that given the time to fully develop, unseen in the darkness, that new life will be born and a name will be given to that life!  

The seasons remind us that everything has its time and its place. The bulbs we bury in the dirt in the fall grow in the dark and reveal their beauty in the spring and the tiny seeds that seem like nothing quickly grow into large tomato plants that produce rich fruit. 

These are the reminders we need to remember we are no different. We have our resting and nurturing time, the time where we seem to be laying dormant, and the time of renewal and new life. The cycle of life is beautiful if we can accept all stages of it because they are all necessary. 

Where have you seen new life come from a place of darkness? Have you been down in the dirt and felt like you would not come out? Do you feel like you’re lying dormant with no movement in your life? Or are you experiencing a time of renewal and refreshment right now? 

Wherever you are, you can rest assured that God is ever-present in the details of your life and He is waiting for the perfect time to reveal His perfect plan. Let this springtime season remind us of the hope we all need to hold onto when times are dark and difficult. A new day and new life is coming!