The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5

When a tornado came through our neighborhood in the middle of the night, the aftermath was absolute darkness and silence. Then in the space of several breaths, the ambulance and police sirens started.

I remember gripping my flashlight as I stepped into the chaos. I could see swarths of light from neighbors all over as people used their flashlights to navigate their way in the dark and to check on each other.

Our street and yards were covered with debris, but we had been spared from most of the destruction. The streets above the hill, however, had been in the direct path of the tornado.  Houses were demolished or badly damaged. Power lines laid out on the roads.

Miraculously, no one in our neighborhood was badly injured.

I held onto to the flashlight as if it was a shield against darkness. We endured several dark nights till the power was finally restored.

This was not my first experience with tornadoes. Living in the South, the unstable weather happened every year, yet this was the first one that truly scared me. That night in March of 2020, before the pandemic swept through, all the tornado watches and warnings had been canceled, so we went to bed. I was a light sleeper and so I awoke when the power went out. I glanced at my phone and there was an announcement with several exclamation marks about a tornado in the area. Take cover now! It warned.

I saw a friend had texted me. A road in my neighborhood had been announced in the news. A tornado was heading our way. We had to take cover. I woke my husband, and he didn’t usually bother taking cover during storms, but we felt the house popping, the strong downshifts of wind and heard the hail. He even joined me downstairs. We saw the green lighting and as it flickered, my husband could see the black monster as it went through our area.

We checked on as many friends and family as we could.

That is not an experience I would like to see again. Storms still scare me today.

But I remember the darkness and how I had found relief in using the flashlight.

There are times when we go through darkness whether literally or spiritually. We often feel lost in the debris.

Believers of faith go through periods of darkness and turmoil. We live in a broken and chaotic world. Tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes are part of our lives. The people we love get cancer. We lose our jobs. Our health deteriorates.

We enter into a time period of vast drought or famine. There are times of hardships. We all bear the scars of the tumultuous lives we lead.

It’s easy for me to say that Christ is the beacon of light amidst the dark. It’s easy to say that you just have to make it through the desolation. It often doesn’t feel easy. It’s difficult and often lonely.

But it is true. Christ is our guiding light. Even if we feel utterly alone and lost, we are being guided. We are loved. Hold on to that faith and hope.

Four years later, the trees still retain the scars of that spring storm, but houses have been rebuilt and the debris has been cleaned up. Life goes on.

The drought or famine ends, the storm moves on, the time passes.

Through it all, even when we don’t feel God is with us, He is. Even in death. He brings us home.

Darkness does not overcome.

God is with us. He will hold you through all the storms life may throw.

Hold on.

“Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.“

“The Uses of Sorrow” by Mary Oliver.

Thought, Word & Deed

A weekly newsletter by Katie Rea.

Guiding questions:

When have you experienced literal darkness and felt relief with the flick of a flashlight or lighting of a candle?

What storms have you experienced in life?

Do you remember a time you experienced spiritual darkness? Did you find a lesson in this time? Did you realize, in retrospect, God had been guiding you even if you felt God was absent?

If you are experiencing spiritual darkness now, seek the help you need. It could be from a friend, a priest, minister, spiritual director or counselor.