“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." ~ Psalm 19:1
Pastor Karen had been working with
Paula for about 9 months as a certified pastoral counselor. While providing services similar to clinical
counselors or therapists, Karen’s approach integrated spirituality, faith, and
theology with psychotherapy to help people seeking assistance with family, personal,
marital, and faith issues.
She’d performed Paula’s and Josh’s wedding ceremony 2 years earlier; a marriage that thrived for six months until Josh walked innocently into a robbery and was fatally wounded. Paula sank deeply into despair, coming out occasionally for bouts of rage and aggression that cost her job. Family and friends shared her suffering but not in a way that lightened the burden.
If only she could be trumpeted like a solar eclipse.
The sight of the moon blotting
out the sun and then turning it into a celestial ring creates a moment
of unparalleled wonder. People don’t
judge the sun for not shining during those times. And no matter how long the light is blocked, it
always returns, more brilliantly than before.
Today Paula’s demeanor seemed
different. She stood tall, alert, and
engaging. “I got face to face with my
depression,” she began.
“Tell me about it,” Karen replied.
“Last night, the familiar
darkness began to wash over me as it’d done for so long. Only this time, I didn’t drink more wine, eat
more chocolate, or curl up on the couch.
I stood up and demanded to know what Ms. Fogbottom (the name she’d given
it because of the way it turned everything grey) wanted from me. I screamed and rebuked her for over an hour.”
“Then something changed! It wasn’t like happiness immediately broke
through; more Ike I’d cracked out from an eggshell and a weight lifted off my
heart. For the first time in forever it
felt like maybe God was listening. What
do you think that was?”
Pastor Karen smiled and said, “I think the end of your
eclipse might be near. Jesus has been
praying for that all along!”
During the following few sessions, Pastor Karen helped Paula
recognize the misery now fading. “In an
eclipse,” she began, “the Light never leaves.
The shadow obscuring it is only temporary. We’re never alone. Even when our faith is shattered by loss, addiction,
health crises, or other challenges, God is always there praying for your
salvation,” she said.
The shadow will pass.
Know He will stand with you until it does.
Almighty Father, let the lunar eclipse serve as a great
example. When the moon covers the sun’s
face, let it remind us of Your Son’s humiliation on our behalf and His death on
the cross; a death that couldn’t hold him for long! Amen
