From Darkness to Light

We have all heard the old adage that it is always darkest before the dawn.  I wonder if that is largely due to the fact that by the time dawn comes, we have spent considerable time in the darkest night, and as the sun shines the light is warm and bright, penetrating our souls with a renewed energy.

I love sunrise as much as I love sunset.  It creates a perfect balance in nature when the sun sets on one day, a new dawn is just around the corner.  As the sun sets, we gradually witness a dimming and diminishing light, we are never thrust from the light to the darkness, it is a gradual process.

Conversely, the same is true at each sunrise.  The sky slowly begins to glow in the horizon with the coming of the sun, it gradually increases in brightness and brilliance and then we are able to bask in the warmth of the sun after it has risen.

Our lives too are never thrust into darkness.  As we sin, we move away from the light until we find ourselves surrounded in darkness, unable to feel the warmth nor experience the brightness of the light available through Jesus Christ.  As we partake of the Atonement and correct our course, we too must allow for the gradual increase an light as we move toward our Savior.  As we continue on the path leading to his love, we enter into more and more of the light and leave the darkness behind.  Oftentimes, it is this journey through the darkness, back towards the light that can seem the darkest for us as our lives readjust to the warmth that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.