What Gives Us Hope

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Twilight lingers for hours in this second week of July. God’s paintbrush softly tints our western Colorado sunsets in wispy peaches and pinks, while purple thunderheads rise in the distance. Colors fade slowly in the translucent sky. Hours seem to pass before the pale turquoise light gives way to nightfall, leaving stars to find their shimmer long after we’ve gone to bed.

Kevin and I have been watching these evenings unfold while camping in the San Juan Mountains. I’m always a little afraid of full-on nightfall because of the bears. Yep, they’re out there. I have an internal tug-of-war over wanting to watch the stars come out and knowing Yogi lurks in the shadows. I’ve had a bear sneak up on me before, and it’s not an experience I want to repeat.

But one of the perks of living in the Rockies is to watch the firmament of Heaven reveal itself after the fading of day. The Milky Way spills diamonds across our night sky. Shooting stars split the darkness. No man-made show rivals the glory of the Universe unveiled when the sun goes down. It’s worth staying up for. It’s even worth braving the bears.

The Dying of the Light

The process of living my last three years as an Evangelical Christian was like watching the light fade away. Because of Trump and the Religious Right’s political movement, I knew the end was coming. There was so much about that life that I loved, and it broke my heart to say goodbye.

But as Edmund Burke so famously observed, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” We could no longer support an organization that stands behind our current president. As spring turned to summer, we said goodbye to the life in which we had given our all. Years of worship and potlucks and prayer chains and teaching Sunday School and serving on committees and annual clean-up days and friendships and Bible Studies and small groups are now just cherished memories.

Also, I’ve been afraid of the dark. It’s only been two years since we moved three hundred miles from our community. As long as we were part of a church here, I knew we would have people in our corner. Leaving church meant we would be alone. Just us and the bears.

But the day came when we both knew it was time. We cleanly cut the cord with no idea of what would come next. Surprisingly, I feel better. I’m sad, but no longer angry. We just don’t believe the same things. And shockingly, I’m not scared. It may appear it’s just us and the bears in the dark, but I’m coming to find out there is light in the darkness I knew nothing about. And that’s where hope comes in.

Being firmly ensconced in church, I never looked beyond the sanctuary doors to discover other ways Christianity is being lived out. Sure, I knew there were other denominations, and that’s always a possibility going forward. But thanks to people much younger than myself, I’m learning there’s a whole world of Jesus-lovers doing their best to live out our Savior’s commands completely detached from the Religious Right’s political juggernaut. And they are rockin’ it.

I am finding hope in online communities like Evolving Faith and Red Letter Christians. I always find hope, and explanations for the difficulties of these times, in the Gospels. Young people are seeing the hypocrisy of speaking Jesus out one side of the mouth and espousing Trump from the other. My son and daughter-in-law have opened my eyes to a world of possibilities I never knew existed. These two dear ones are firmly based in the Word of God, and they have encouraged me to step into the world of today and take a look around.

And what I’m seeing is making me think.

No Longer Afraid of the Dark

I don’t agree with all the new ideas, just as I don’t disagree with everything the Old Order of Church believed.

I do agree with Jesus. I’m still on my year-long walk through the Gospels, studying with trusted commentaries on every step I take. Having our Savior’s teachings as the Gold Standard for belief, for behavior, and for love completely satisfies my deep need to know the Truth. And the Truth is setting me free once again.

Now the days are getting shorter, but I’m no longer afraid of the dark. Of course, the bears are still there. But I’m taking courage from knowing others are beating the bushes alongside me, searching for Jesus no matter what dangers lurk in the shadows. Communities exist in this brave new world, and I’ve been welcomed there. As a matter of fact, everyone is welcome there. And fewer daylight hours make it easier to watch the stars come out. The Milky Way spills diamonds across our night sky. Shooting stars split the darkness. No man-made show rivals the glory of the Universe unveiled when the sun goes down. It’s worth staying up for. It’s even worth braving the bears.

I want to watch the stars find their shimmer.