when it is dark...

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

it plays beside me as i sit in the quiet of lights strung onto a tree.

the haunting melody of a crying out for Him,

and it leaves me undone.


o come, o come, Emmanuel
and ransom captive israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.


the tree that glows near me gives off the heady scent of Christmas and i close my eyes for a moment,

i try to search for the joy.



but my heart is heavy.

there is my story that i share with words that sometimes tremble on the screen in front of me.  i bring them up out of memories and moments and i leave them here.


but there are your stories too.

ones of loss,

ones of hope,

ones of triumph

and ones of exceptional pain.

and i hear woven in through your words, the call for Emmanuel...


come Lord Jesus, come...

and maybe in the dark of the night, the call for Him rings clearer...


your story is worth sharing,

worth fighting for.


but more importantly,

you are worth fighting for.

do you know that?


in the middle of words stretched tight with pain, 

a story that lays bare and open,

lays open before Him.


and He has come.

because you are worth the fighting He did,

you are worth the dying He died.

you are worth the life He conquered death to give.


can i speak this to you tonight?


can i speak the words to you that i wish i could have spoken to the one who chose to leave 2 years ago?


every life that bends over and hemorrhages grief,

every life that stands tall in praise and triumph,

every life that feels caught in the middle... unexceptional and ordinary,

each one needs to know,

you. need. to. know,

you are worth everything that He gave up and suffered to give.


He has come.


He has come so that the chains that leave you shackled can be shattered.


and you are right...

right now?  it's probably too much to believe it.

too much to see it...

our eyes can be blinded by a myriad of circumstances...

but it doesn't change Who He is and What He has to offer you.

and bit by bit, it will come if you press forward.

if you choose to believe in the dark,

in the light,

in the grey,

the truth that He loves you.


yes.  you.

He loves you.

and He came in the dark for you.


He died in the dark for you.

and He offers life out of the dark of death He conquered for you.


and as you believe, as you cling to what He promises,

you will find that in time, in the stillness of where you find yourself,

you will find the Strength to,

rejoice!  rejoice! 
Emmanuel shall come to thee
o israel...

don't give up...

He gave you a beautiful story to share...