Darkness… and then Light.
Recently, my family and I moved back to our home state of Minnesota, something we never really thought we would do. We have been out of this great state for 23 years, and in the past six months, we have found ourselves joyfully rediscovering so many things we had forgotten that we loved. Minnesota, if you have not been here, is truly beautiful in all seasons, especially today, as I watch fat snowflakes fall to the ground and blanket the grasses, the lakes, and our homes with the brightest white one can imagine.
One area we have not so joyfully rediscovered, however, is the darkness that December brings in the Upper Midwest. The sun is barely rising as we get in the car to drop our son, Eliot, off at school at 7:45 am, and is nearly setting when we arrive home after picking him up. The days are short, and our bodies and minds feel it. By 7:00 pm, it feels like an act of great fortitude to just stay awake!
As we savor the season of Advent, the season of waiting for the coming of the Savior of the World – the Light – we see a great deal of darkness. I also see the gracious gift of the season’s traditions. Our Christmas trees cast warm glows throughout our home as the sun sets and as we wait for it to rise.
I find myself adding more and more strands of twinkle lights to the dining room centerpiece, the garland over the windows, and probably too many other places throughout our home. Candles, including the Advent wreath, and roaring fires remind us of our need for light – both the energy of light here on earth, and the eternal light we await.
The light throughout our home is a reprieve in the darkness, and it brings joy, peace, and a contentment that overcomes the darkness outside. The light is also an antidote to the common clinical side-effects of darkness – increased depression, feelings of hopelessness, and reduced immune function. The Advent season gives us a real, Earthly reminder of our deep need for light, far beyond the effects on our bodies and minds. Our need for the Light of the World is much, much deeper, of course.
Did you know that the King James Version of the Bible uses the word “darkness” 162 times, and the word “dark” over 40 times? To put that number into context, the word “grace” is used just over 150 times! Darkness was used in a few ways throughout scripture. First, as a way to describe the evil that was pervasive – violence, injustice, abuse of power, seemingly bottomless grief – these were just a few of the real experiences of God’s people on Earth. We know that those experiences are ever-present in our schools, our communities, and if we are honest, in our own hearts.
Darkness was also used to describe the incurable ignorance of the time.
19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land,[h] greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. (Isaiah 8:18-22 ESV)
Of course, we are not so different today, as too often, technology, the state, wealth, or the latest “expert’s” advice is what we seek to enlighten us. And, when we seek those things first, we are thrust into thick darkness all the same.
The Light has shone with Christ’s arrival, however, ‘to make all sad things untrue’, as Sally Lloyd Jones in the Jesus Storybook Bible states. As Isaiah 9 prophesies, “…the people walking in the darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (v. 2-6). The light has come to us! Even in the darkness of a Minnesota winter, the Light is available for all to see.
As we steward the precious students, families, and staff the Lord has entrusted to us in the midst of the false hope and distractions of our world, it is my hope and prayer that Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is glorified.
Katie played a role in CESA’s founding and served as its original Director of Academic Advancement. In that position, Katie co-wrote the original CESA standards and helped develop the initial institutional review process. She also played a major role in organizing the early CESA symposia and heads retreats.
She has served on the faculties of Wheaton College, Boston University, Gordon College, and Kennesaw State University, and currently teaches in graduate programs at Baylor University and Taylor University. She also serves as Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, is a Research Fellow with Cardus, and is a research scholar at Baylor’s Center for School Leadership.
Katie also has extensive experience in K-12 Christian schooling, having served as an administrator and faculty at several private Christian schools. She has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of St. Thomas, and her doctorate from Boston University.
Katie can be reached at kwiens@cesaschools.org or you can use the button below to schedule a virtual appointment with her.