Between Heaven + Earth: Betty McGinnis

God created the world and it was good. He created it in His own image. In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. There was day and night...light and darkness.  Somehow, the darkness overwhelms us in our world today. Ill or dying friends or families; misunderstandings and divisiveness all around; injustice prevailing; planet earth damaged; our country unsettled; war raging and refugees fleeing. Darkness and despair seem to fill the air in these times.  Do we let this darkness rob us of hope?

Or do we…wait for the dawn of each day, and the beauty of the sun rising. Every day of every year, light fills the day so we can see so much for which to be grateful. Children smiling and embracing us, “I love you!” Teenagers sharing their stories of full lives; neighbors’ kindness reaching out to the lonely and dying; churches caring for those on the edge; the commitment of people in conflicted countries engaging in acts of friendship and peace; refugees welcomed into homes and churches; organizations caring for people’s needs; flood ridden communities expressing hope in situations we cannot even imagine; research rehabilitating our earth; farmers working from early morning to evening to provide food. 

God’s messengers are everywhere. We are so blessed with the light. Through the light, God’s creation gives us hope with unending grace, unconditional love, and promises of care and rehabilitation.  

Do we listen? Are we patient? For that which will come each day? Oh, the smell of the dew, the beauty of the sunrise, the sun brightly shining every day of our life never seeming to miss a beat.

God is faithful to the creation God built creating heaven and earth. Darkness will come in varying forms, yet, God’s promise of light prevails over and over and over.  I ask for patience to wait for the promises to be revealed through the  Light of the World given to us in creation. 

May this Advent be my beginning.