Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. // Mark 8:32
“Look on the bright side,” I often say. Because sometimes the shadows of life are too dark. Sometimes infertility rips a hole in your heart or the bills begin to mount or your health begins to tank. Sometimes the darkness takes hold and leaves you floundering for the light, so the bright side is all you have to cling to.
And, oh, do I cling to it. I grasp at it while running from the shadows as they close in around me. I do everything I can to ignore the darkness while running only toward the light. But sometimes, that darkness, it’s the only avenue to the light. Sometimes you have to walk within it and let it sting before it guides you gently toward the bright side. Sometimes it’s the only way forward.
I imagine Saint Peter must have felt the same when Jesus told him of His plan to suffer. I imagine that he, too, clung to the light while ignoring the looming darkness Christ spoke about.
And, if I’m honest, I can’t say I blame him. How many times do we do this ourselves? How many times do we refuse to acknowledge the looming darkness because we want to skip straight to the light?
Brittany Calavitta
I don’t know what sort of darkness you find yourself in right now, but there is light on the other side. Let Him usher you into it.
It was the darkness that ushered in the light. // @IamBritCalClick to tweet
Brittany Calavitta is an enthusiastic advocate for a good book, strong coffee, and a hopeful heart. After battling years of infertility, she and her husband welcomed their first child on September 11, 2016. While balancing time between life with a preschooler and a husband who travels for ministry, Brittany dances professionally all over Southern California where her family currently resides. She was a contributing author to Here Too: Where We Find God and Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women. Find out more about her here.
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