Last week my husband received a call from a long time friend. It was someone he grew up with, graduated from high school with, went off to serve in the military with and someone who was a groomsman in our wedding.
He hadn’t spoken to him in over a year. While they talked, I left for a 3 mile walk.
When I returned, they were still talking.
His friend was weary. Very weary. He could only see the shadows in life.
Somewhere in the conversation the topic turned to Heaven and to the release and relief that Heaven will bring us from this world that seems to have gone mad.
But one thing his friend said to my husband really got to him. His friend’s words went something like this: “I just hope that I can be good enough to get into Heaven.”
Bob assured him that it isn’t his goodness that will gain his entry into internal life with God, but what God did for him. Bob pointed him in the direction of Christ and told him he’d email him some verses from the Bible.
In that email Bob shared some verses from the book of Romans that is rich with the message of salvation.
His friend saw light break through his shadows and thanked my husband for his help and told him it made sense to him now. They will talk again soon.
All my conversations with people lately have had that same common reality. Weariness.
The state of the world weighs heavy on them. Then add their own personal hardships and life can seem unbearable.
One morning recently I woke up at dawn and looked out my kitchen window. I could see tall beech trees casting shadows but what caught my attention, more than the shadows, was the sun rising behind them. In between the dark tree trunks, I saw light poking through. There will always be light if we look through the shadows of life.
I think of the lines from Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem”
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
I threw open my window and allowed the breeze to catch my curtain, breathing in with the breeze to begin again and exhaling all that gets in the way of my peace.
I wrote the following poem as I thought about all the weary travelers:
Oh weary traveler it is so hard
Not to see what’s wrong
In a world sick with imperfection
It’s easy to lose your song
You see the shadows
But you can’t see the light
Searching for goodness
It seems so far from sight
Peace is in this moment
Not in some other place
Breathe in and exhale out
Find what’s good in this space
A calm heart becomes reality
As the past and future you release
And the gifts you see before you
With each inhale will increase
Light and shadows always mingle
The world is full of both
You can’t have only light
If you want to see real growth
Look for the cracks in the shadows
That’s how God’s light gets in
Divine gifts you’ll receive daily
And peace will flourish from within
Blessings,
Pens and Journals 
Nancy, this was so beautiful to read. How wonderful that your husband could explain God’s simple and wonderful plan of salvation to your friend. The poem you wrote is a gift to all of us who follow your blog. Thank you so much.
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It truly was wonderful for my husband to have that conversation with our friend. Sometimes God opens a door of opportunity like that and it really is a blessing. I’m happy you liked my poem. Thank you for your comment, Mary.
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Love how God used Bob, as He has many times over the years. Bob is so good at sharing Christ’s love with others. And your poem is so beautiful, Nancy, so very true. Thank you for sharing your gift. Love you two💞
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Yes, Bob is good at sharing Christ’s love with others. He’s experienced grace upon grace and loves to share the hope and light with others. Thank you , Bonnie. 💕
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Thank you for your inspirational poem! It is so hard nowadays to be positive and to see the good! But, I do see God’s hand at work. He is raising up the people we need to defeat the darkness. God bless!
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I agree, Dawn. For us, because of my husband’s illness and compromised immunity, we aren’t as free as most people yet. We still have to take so many precautions to keep him safe. With that and everything else going on in the world, it can be hard to stay positive. But I do see God at work too. On Easter Sunday, we had 120 young people get baptized at our church … proof that God is at work. God bless you too!
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That’s really wonderful, Nancy!
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Nancy, what a blessing that your husband was able to dispel some of the darkness in his friend’s life! As you say in your beautiful poem, “Light and shadows always mingle.” We live in times when the shadows grow deeper and wider, weighing heavily on many of us.
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Yes, it was certainly a blessing for both of them. Thank you for reading my post and taking the time to comment, Rosaliene. I truly appreciate it.
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My pleasure, Nancy 🙂
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A timely poem Nancy! Thank you for sharing it. Only in the shadows can we see the Light. The testimony of your husband shining Light on his friend’s shadows is beautiful. It reminded me of the chorus in the Josh Turner song called “I Saw the Light.” It goes “I saw the light, I saw the light/ No more darkness, no more night/ now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight/ Praise the Lord, I saw the light.”
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It was a blessing for both my husband and his friend. It was a divine appointment. I love the words to that chorus, Beth. Thank you so much.
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Thanks for the follow:)
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And thank you as well, Rosaliene. I look forward to connecting with you here.
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Nancy that is a great quote, and your poem caught your sentiments perfectly. I pray your husband’s friend continues to let God’s Word shine His truth.
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Thank you, Jo. I hope so too. Have a blessed week!
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I feel so blessed to have come upon this poem today. Thank you for sharing this post and this wonderful poem. I will come back to read it again. 🙂
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Thank you for reading and for leaving your lovely comment, Linda. God bless you. ❤️
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Truly beautiful Nancy! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you so much, Fred.
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Beautifully written! Thank you for sharing 😊
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Thank you for reading and for taking the time to comment.
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I love this Nancy! Beautiful poetry also. Isn’t it amazing that even in our own brokenness and pain – God gives us opportunities to be His hands extended? Love that thought – ‘the cracks allow the light in’.
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Thank you so much. Yes … even in our brokenness, weakness and pain God can still use us. He recycles everything for good.
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Coming through the shadows always makes us grateful for the light. Thanks, Nancy, for the encouraging report about your husband’s friend and for the beautiful poem. It reminded me of a song by one of my favorite bands, NeedToBreathe, that starts, “Be the light in the crack … ” and ends with “Be more heart and less attack.” It’s one of those songs that invites me to relax and rest in Jesus when I’m weary. Today I needed something like that, and here was your post. 🙂 ❤
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Beautiful and thought-provoking. Thank you, Nancy.
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Lovely post, Nancy.
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