Gray days are not my favourite. They have a heaviness, like wearing a weighted blanket all day. They lack spark and I long impatiently for the light to blaze again.

However, gray days provide a backdrop, allowing the beauty of nature to pop. Dark greens of the drooping fir, vibrant burgundy of the red maple beside it, leaves of bright, lime green, soft sprouting yellows and the odd budding purple. Yellow and white daffodils shout against the dullness. Pink, orange and red tulips deepen. Cascading flowers in baskets sing, sparking joy in the heart and a feast for the eyes. Even the gloom of steel-coloured wintry skies enhances the sparkle of white falling crystals. The stark, naked trees stand out against it, and the beauty of their unique bark and branches is seen.

It’s the same when we walk through hardships and challenging days. We drag our leaden feet, see the world through dimmed lenses, and hopeless hearts drain peace and rest, like a syringe sucking blood from our veins,

But like nature, it is during these gloomy, darkened times Christ shines through the brightest. The character of His love, mercy, faithfulness and grace, pop against the gloom of a sin-filled, broken world.

We were not created to live in a wilderness. We were created to live in a garden.

Darkness, decay, and loneliness were not His will for us. Light, beauty and relationship were.

But when our first parents, Adam and Eve, chose the lie over the truth, self-rule over God’s rule, the suffocating steel clouds rolled in and the earth became hard and thorny. A foreign awareness fell on them like a deep fog rolling in; loneliness. With the separation came fear, insecurity, a deep sense of remorse and a longing to return. This is the world, the life, we have inherited and continue to battle against.

We weren’t abandoned, though- never forsaken. Like our universe continues to expand and unfold, so does the plan of our loving Creator Lord and Father. And just as our knowledge of the universe, our planet, and ourselves is limited, so is our understanding of God’s plans for us.

But because we know he is good, because we know he loves us, because we know he is powerful, because we know he is compassionate, we can trust him to guide us like a shepherd guides his sheep. He is the Good Shepherd who sent his prized pure lamb to be slaughtered on our behalf.

This is the Good Shepherd who in the gloomiest, most weighted days, puts his hand upon you, whispering I am here. He keeps his hand upon you, slowly guiding you along the path he has chosen for you. The lifelong path that brings you back to the garden of unbroken oneness with your Father, the garden of light, beauty and joy. Home.

Jesus is our Shepherd, who has walked before us and left us a Comforter in place of a weighted blanket; the Holy Spirit.

So, don’t rush through the gloomy days impatiently, ignoring the beauty and grace being showcased. Rest in it and seek the beauty of the Lord displayed, with grateful joy to your Creator who loves you abundantly.

“And the ransomed of the LORD will return.

and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Isaiah 35:10 ESV

This promise is not just for our future, or Heaven. It is for today, here and now. Despite our sorrows and sighs, we can experience gladness and joy in the presence of our beautiful, compassionate LORD.

Let the tears fall. Groan, embrace, and acknowledge the loss, whatever it may be. It is part of the healing process. But look up and know that you are deeply loved. Look around and acknowledge his blessings. Look within and hear the Comforter he has provided. No matter how gloomy the days look, the Light is always with you and there is beauty and hope in it.

Be well!

Patricia