In the Darkness

In reaching to the hurting lost there is a danger.

A danger that perhaps I will become like them.

Immersed in the bitterness, the selfishness, the sin,

At times I feel surrounded in darkness.

Yet perhaps harder than myself being in that darkness,

Is seeing a brother or sister shining their light in the thick of the dark.

I ache because I understand the temptations.

I cringe because I know the tug.

Even though I understand it’s their battle,

I want to pull them away, protect them.

But I can’t.

I want the darkness to abate.

I want to know they will not fall.

Yet how can light shine unless it is faced with darkness?

How can Christ make a difference if they do not tell?

I worry about them in the darkness they face,

But yet I think myself able to face my darkness.

Am I more able than my brother?

Do I truly think I can walk and not stumble?

So I pray, for me and my brother.

Not to be strong,

But to see more acutely our need.

Because only when seeing our need,

Do we place our hands in His to walk through the darkness.