Just off the lobby of the theatre where I attended university, there’s a spacious dance studio. I was there for a concert the other day and noticed the door was propped open.
Feeling nostalgic, I walked over to investigate the mirrored room where I’d spent some time as an undergrad. But the lights were turned off, and the space was a cave.
I stepped in, giving my eyes time to adjust. Another door, on the other side was open, painting a faint rectangle of light. Hyper-aware, I slowly stepped toward the exit, venturing deeper into the ink. The only sound was the hum of the air conditioning.
I made it across to the doorway and turned around. On the way back, I found a chair I’d walked by without seeing. But from the light of the opposite door, it was visible. I sat down, soaking in the tranquility. I noticed the thin outline of a white table to my right. I saw it on the way over, but thought it was the bottom of the opposite wall.
Voices! Someone was coming…
“I’m in here,” I said, not wanting to startle anyone. The stage hand’s headlamp swept my way. “I can turn on the light,” he said, flipping the switch. One side of the room lit up, revealing another black table and two more chairs.
I had just walked through a shadowy obstacle course without realizing it.
During the concert, we sang a beautiful choral anthem based on a poem by James Agee, that fits my experience in the dimly lit room:
Sure on this shining night
of starmade shadows round
kindness must watch for me
this side the ground
on this shining night
I asked Google to tell me the meaning of these lines, though I had a pretty good idea.
Even in the darkest of times, there is a constant shining presence that offers hope and peace.
Google Gemini (artificial intelligence)
Hey, I know who that constant shining presence is. He’s the Living God!
You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.
2 Samuel 22:29 (NIV)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5 (NIV)
Kind reader, as long as God is in charge of the universe, there will always be more light than darkness, and more good than bad. Furthermore, the Lord’s “night vision” guarantees He sees us and knows where we are. Always.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139: 11-12
Thank you for reading. 🙏❤️ prayers and love.
The Stigma Stops Here. 🛑
#mentalhealthmatters
Davids Daily Dose 
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