12.10.2025 | Second Wednesday in Advent

Where Darkness Softens Into Light
 
Hope begins as a whisper long before it becomes a song.
 
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
— Isaiah 9:2
 
As I walk around the garden on this windy, chilly morning, I can almost hear the soundtrack to The Lion King playing in my head. The words from “Circle of Life” have become an unexpected earworm on this late autumn day. The once vibrant plants are laying down now, beginning their quiet return to the earth, slowly becoming soil again and preparing the way for future life in the compost bin.
 
We were out having dinner with old friends last evening, celebrating recent birthdays, when that text came through. It was the kind of message none of us want to receive yet are never surprised by. Our friend’s aunt passed away after a long illness at age 95. A full life, a blessing in so many ways, and still the ache remains, especially in this season.
 
Loss has a way of showing up uninvited this time of year. The chair sits empty. A bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey remains unopened. Traditions that once anchored us simply do not happen anymore. I always feel a touch of the Holiday Blues as December settles in. And yet, I still find myself looking forward to the small things that make this season shine.
 
This past weekend we went to a Christmas concert. The lights dimmed, and a children’s choir entered holding candles and singing “Silent Night” with voices that sounded like they had drifted straight from heaven. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and for a moment I knew I was not alone. Advent became real in that instant. We were not celebrating Santa Claus. We were preparing for the Light of the World to come and scatter the darkness.
 
The circle of life keeps turning. The darkness will end. The light will return. For now, we wait. We wait and we listen. And sometimes, if we are paying attention, we catch a glimpse of heaven, like when children gather and sing of a holy night where all is calm and all is bright.
 
For now, we pray for that heavenly peace to come and fill us all.
 
Because love always breaks through.