The days are getting darker. Literally, the sun sets in the early afternoon and figuratively, it is hard to imagine the reality of the world in which we live. But just as the winter months eventually fade into spring, so too this darkness is not meant to last forever. We watch the rise in Covid deaths and know these next weeks and months will be difficult, tragic for many. And yet, in the same breath, there is the clarion call of a vaccine that may be rolled out within days.
How does one cope while living in excruciating limbo? How does one remain at home with a myriad of thoughts that can’t seem to quiet down?
My favorite story of Adam in the Garden of Eden continues to bring a semblance of solace. As the sun sets during Adam’s first Shabbat, he is consumed with an insatiable fear. With the dipping of the sun, will the light ever return? Colder, darker, feeling alone, deeply lonely. Comforts of the garden not filling his widening void of dread. Faith becoming harder and harder to access. But within the bleakness of the moment, Adam feels two pieces of flint stone brushing against his foot. Something compels him to reach down, grab the stones, strike them together, and create a searing light that pierces the darkness. Hope returns.
Who introduced the spark of light? One might name Adam. Others name God. And I say both. God gives each of us the tools we need to find our ways out of the darkness.
The darkness won’t last forever. But in the coming days, we may each need to do a little digging, a little searching. For God gave each of us a unique ability to cope with impossibility; to rise through that which seemingly drags us into the abyss.
Dear God, help us to find our way. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom
