Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Jean Olson.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
There once was a little girl who was always looking over her shoulder. She could hear a voice gently calling to her: “Where are you?” She wondered, “Who is watching me? Have I done something wrong?”
She remembers that day when she was tempted to find the chocolate chip bag which her mother kept up high in the kitchen cupboard. “Oh, how good it would taste to have a few chocolate chips melt in my mouth!”
So she tip-toed into the kitchen. She looked around. It was quiet. She was alone. Carefully she pulled a kitchen chair to the counter and nimbly climbed up. Reaching as high as she could she opened the cupboard door…and THERE IT WAS! The golden bag of chocolate chips, right at her finger-tips. She noticed one corner of the bag was already open. By sliding two fingers into the bag she was able to grasp a few chocolate chips, withdraw the “treasure” from the bag, and climb back down from the kitchen counter. When once again on solid ground, she slowly opened her hand, while anticipating the sweetness of the chocolate chips. Oh, no!! They had melted. No worries. After a quick lick of her hand, she silently pushed the chair back to the table, ran from the kitchen and into the comfort of her bedroom .
Again, a soft voice within called to her … “Where are you?”
As she grows older, the wily voice of the serpent often re-emerges to tempt her to live in the darkness of brokenness: self doubt, guilt, blame, shame. However, when she stills herself to listen, she feels the invitation of life in the Light! The voice of Grace, of Hope, of Love calls out “WHERE ARE YOU?”
A prayer of Augustine of Hippo. (ELW p. 87)
O loving God, to turn away from you is to fall, to turn toward you is to rise, and to stand before you is to abide forever. Amen.