Light in our Darkest Moments By Jenny Sawyer Finding It wasn't one thing; it was everything. I was stressed about a pile-up of deadlines. Worried about lots of things that were going God's creation. Darkness and on in the world. And then, late at night, I got a message telling me that someone I cared about was in desperate straits and feeling suicidal. I stared out into the blackness thinking that it was a pretty good representation of how dark life seemed in that moment. And because God is completely good, anything dark, heavy, or hopeless doesn't belong to it. And no dark or mistaken view of "without beginning of years or end my friend, my work, or the world could share mental space with the it in "Science and Health with Key light that dawned in my thoughts in to the Scriptures" (p. 333). of days," as Mary Baker Eddy puts hopelessness are a misperception of things - a limited and false view that moment. that fades as we let in that light of Outwardly, nothing had changed. But inwardly, everything had. It was like I was seeing it all through the lens of Truth, lit up by the light instead of shrouded in darkness. That means it's always present to shed light on the darkest places in our lives. It's always here to Truth. Truth, being true, always shows us what's real. It reveals solutions where it appears there are problems. It comforts us with the promise of God's, Love's, presence to move with expectation toward illuminate our consciousness with true and holy views of God's universe, and what these views And from that basis, I started to find traction for my prayers and mean for us. But is it? came a gentle thought, piercing the heaviness and gloom. Funny how a simple question can get you looking in a whole new direction - in this case, toward the light instead of into the darkness. And that simple reorientation can move us so naturally away from fear and despair and toward hope, safe, and so loved. expectation, and healing. I till have moments when the "night" of a problem seems long and the blackness thick. Maybe you do, too. And yet, what I know now with more conviction is that the promise of Christmas really is for every day, every moment. where it seems like there's fear or solutions and healing. This light even touched my friend; when she got back to me the next morning, pain. You could say that just as light illuminates the faint outlines of the objects in a dark room and shows what they actually are, Truth she had turned a corner and was brings to light what we really are as God's children: spiritual, whole, feeling stable and hopeful. Here's another thing that's so cool about that light of Truth: It has all the power. Darkness doesn't have any power; it can't shut out the light. But light, by its very nature, excludes darkness. This incident didn't happen at Christmas, but isn't it what Christmas is all about: the dawning "The dark night wakes, the glory of a brilliant light that reveals the kingdom of heaven right here with us and brings the resolution of problems big or small? Christ What kind of light could I possibly have found at a moment like that? breaks," as a Christmas carol puts it (Phillips Brooks, "Christian Science Hymnal," No. 222). And the. light of knowing that we are saved The words I have for it come from my study of Christian Science, which would characterize it as the light of Truth, or God, the totally good creator who made, maintains, Darkness can't elbow its way in, and loves us all. Divine Truth uncovers, exposes, illumines - just occupy the same space where light healing power he exemplified and like light. Jesus' birth marked the advent - and safe - washes over us. of this message of Truth for the whole world. But the Christ - the Originally published in the 9 December 2021 Christian Science Monitor or even hide in the corner. It can't is; the presence of light eliminates embodied is for all time. It's CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY OF MERIMBULA Sunday services Church and Sunday School for Children and Teens 9.30am at Tura Beach Library and on Zoom. Call 0409 465 531 Light in our Darkest Moments By Jenny Sawyer Finding It wasn't one thing; it was everything. I was stressed about a pile-up of deadlines. Worried about lots of things that were going God's creation. Darkness and on in the world. And then, late at night, I got a message telling me that someone I cared about was in desperate straits and feeling suicidal. I stared out into the blackness thinking that it was a pretty good representation of how dark life seemed in that moment. And because God is completely good, anything dark, heavy, or hopeless doesn't belong to it. And no dark or mistaken view of "without beginning of years or end my friend, my work, or the world could share mental space with the it in "Science and Health with Key light that dawned in my thoughts in to the Scriptures" (p. 333). of days," as Mary Baker Eddy puts hopelessness are a misperception of things - a limited and false view that moment. that fades as we let in that light of Outwardly, nothing had changed. But inwardly, everything had. It was like I was seeing it all through the lens of Truth, lit up by the light instead of shrouded in darkness. That means it's always present to shed light on the darkest places in our lives. It's always here to Truth. Truth, being true, always shows us what's real. It reveals solutions where it appears there are problems. It comforts us with the promise of God's, Love's, presence to move with expectation toward illuminate our consciousness with true and holy views of God's universe, and what these views And from that basis, I started to find traction for my prayers and mean for us. But is it? came a gentle thought, piercing the heaviness and gloom. Funny how a simple question can get you looking in a whole new direction - in this case, toward the light instead of into the darkness. And that simple reorientation can move us so naturally away from fear and despair and toward hope, safe, and so loved. expectation, and healing. I till have moments when the "night" of a problem seems long and the blackness thick. Maybe you do, too. And yet, what I know now with more conviction is that the promise of Christmas really is for every day, every moment. where it seems like there's fear or solutions and healing. This light even touched my friend; when she got back to me the next morning, pain. You could say that just as light illuminates the faint outlines of the objects in a dark room and shows what they actually are, Truth she had turned a corner and was brings to light what we really are as God's children: spiritual, whole, feeling stable and hopeful. Here's another thing that's so cool about that light of Truth: It has all the power. Darkness doesn't have any power; it can't shut out the light. But light, by its very nature, excludes darkness. This incident didn't happen at Christmas, but isn't it what Christmas is all about: the dawning "The dark night wakes, the glory of a brilliant light that reveals the kingdom of heaven right here with us and brings the resolution of problems big or small? Christ What kind of light could I possibly have found at a moment like that? breaks," as a Christmas carol puts it (Phillips Brooks, "Christian Science Hymnal," No. 222). And the. light of knowing that we are saved The words I have for it come from my study of Christian Science, which would characterize it as the light of Truth, or God, the totally good creator who made, maintains, Darkness can't elbow its way in, and loves us all. Divine Truth uncovers, exposes, illumines - just occupy the same space where light healing power he exemplified and like light. Jesus' birth marked the advent - and safe - washes over us. of this message of Truth for the whole world. But the Christ - the Originally published in the 9 December 2021 Christian Science Monitor or even hide in the corner. It can't is; the presence of light eliminates embodied is for all time. It's CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY OF MERIMBULA Sunday services Church and Sunday School for Children and Teens 9.30am at Tura Beach Library and on Zoom. Call 0409 465 531