Appreciating the dark


APPRECIATING THE DARK

Mario D’Couto

            When I look at the stars at night, I am always baffled at its beauty. Science teaches us that each star is a heavenly body. Given the fact that each star is a heavenly body, we can imagine the size of each star. Yet, because of the distance, the stars appear no more than a dot in the sky.

            Anyone who has seen stars in the night will vouch for what I am saying. They are all sparkling dots that light up the dark and yet thinking of it, we can say that it is precisely because of this dark background, that we can appreciate the beauty of the stars.

            Robin Sharma, in his book, “Discover your destiny”, writes the following words, “You are far greater than you have ever dreamed of being. And no matter what you are experiencing in your life right now, trust that all is good and unfolding in your best interests. It may not look pretty but it is exactly what you need to learn for you to grow into the person you have been destined to become. Everything occurring in your life has been perfectly orchestrated to inspire your maximal evolution as a human being and bring you into true power. Learn from life and allow it to take where you are meant to go – it has your highest interests in mind.”

            Life is never smooth sailing and if one were to think that it is, then I think that one is living in an illusion. However, it is in the very things that we struggle with that make us into better people, just as a gem or a precious stone is polished and edged out in order to make it shine. The morning dawn comes after the dark night and so too is it the same with life. Tough experiences don’t last but tough people do.


            As Joseph Campbell once said, “Your treasure is where you stumble”, character is both developed and revealed by the tests and all of life is a test. We are always being tested. The sad part is unlike school tests and examinations where learning precedes tests and examinations, life offers the test first and then the learning takes place. A very important test is how you act when you can’t feel God’s presence in your life. Sometimes, God intentionally draws back and we don’t feel His presence. A King named Hezekiah had this experience in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 32:31). Hezekiah enjoyed a close fellowship with God but at a crucial point in His life, God left Him alone to test His character, to reveal a weakness and to prepare him for more responsibility.

            God constantly watches our response to people, problems, success, conflict, idleness, disappointment and even the weather. He even watches the simplest actions such as when we open a door for someone, when we pick a piece of trash or when we are polite towards a clerk or any worker. Of course, this does not mean that God is a policeman or a taskmaster, waiting to check on what a person does and punish him/her. He does it to help us to grow.

            Without darkness, it is quite unlikely whether we would be able to notice any stars which is why the darkness has its place. Without it, we would not be able to appreciate the beauty of a star. When we understand that life is a test, we realize that nothing is insignificant in our lives. Even the smallest incident has significance for our character development. Every day is an important day and every second is an opportunity to deepen our character, to demonstrate love or to depend on God. Some tests seem overwhelming while others we don’t even notice. But all of them have eternal implications.

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