Finding Our Way Out of the Fog

When I woke up this morning, the view from my kitchen window took my breath away. From up on the hill where I live, I can see down into the valley that lies in the center of town. And even though the sunlight was streaming into my windows, there was a silvery blanket of fog floating over the valley. At the moment, all I noticed was its shimmering, dazzling beauty: the way the light was reflecting off the tiny droplets of water vapor. I felt as if I were somehow magically floating above the clouds.

But when I drove into town, I couldn't see anything. I had to drive right into that silvery blanket, and once I was inside it, I couldn't see the sun - not at all. I could barely see the cars in front of me on the road. And I was struck by the contrast between my sunlit living room, where I was just minutes before, and this dreary, foggy place, which seemed like an alternate reality.

It occurred to me that often, when life throws challenges our way and our path seems uncertain, we feel as if we are living in a fog. We can't see clearly, we don't know which way to go, we feel like we're stumbling through it, and maybe we even forget that the sun is still shining somewhere up above the fog. But the truth is that it's not foggy everywhere. What appears as a foggy day to us is actually a sunny day, but we just happen to be under a patch of fog. The sun has not *actually* taken a break from shining.

As I drove through the fog, I found myself wishing that I could invite the whole city up to my house so that they could enjoy the sunshine. It would have been very crowded, but the point here is not how small my house is, but the fact that it was so much more cheerful up in my neighborhood, where the sun was shining. Why should they all be stuck in this dreariness when it's so lovely just up the hill?

And then, I thought of my friends who are going through dark, confusing times, particularly those who are grieving for a lost loved one, or for a relationship that has ended. When these dark moments happen to us, we feel like we are stumbling and can't see clearly. Perhaps we even feel as if the sun has stopped shining. As their friend, I want so much to share a little bit of sunshine with them, and to reassure them that the fog will lift eventually.

We all know that there are times in life when hope seems devastatingly elusive. There are times when life seems to deal us a cruel blow; times when the world seems like a hostile place; times when the future seems grim. But if we can look beyond that patch of fog, to the edges of the clouds, we might just see the sun shining. We might be able to imagine a brighter future. We might start to see the goodness around us, the beauty of the world and the people who live in it.

It has taken me more than a month to post on this blog again. To me, it felt too difficult to make a compelling case for optimism with the possibility of war with Syria, and then with the government shut down, watching our nation's leaders blame each other for their seemingly unyielding impasse. The fog was getting to me. And now, we have averted war, and our government is running again. The fundamental, underlying problems have not vanished, but collectively, we have found our way out of these messes. Now, the future of our world seems a little more hopeful to me than it did a few weeks ago.

And those friends of mine who are struggling with tremendous heartbreak? Miraculously, they are enduring. They are persevering. They are picking themselves up and moving forward, one painful step at a time. Their hearts are broken, but they are finding their way, choosing each day to keep going, no matter how hard it is. Whether their own fog will lift today, tomorrow, next week, or next year, they are seeking the sunlight. These friends are my heroes: they are facing our biggest fears and finding the courage to continue living their lives. May we all continue to seek the sunlight, to share it with others, and to remember that no matter how foggy it seems, the fog never lasts forever.