Not Alone in the Dark

Several years ago, I invited a congregation I was serving to complete the following statement in writing:

God, you were with me even when...

Many were willing to write their responses and have them read in worship. I'd like to share some of these with you now.

God, you were with me even when: I lay having radiation treatment in a room where no other human being could be. I felt you with me.

God, you were with me even when: As a new pilot in World War II, the engine on my training plane quit on a night flight. Suddenly a light showed me the way to the airbase, and I landed with no power.

God, you were with me even when: My marriage seemed hopeless. You restored and healed us and gave us hope to continue to try.

God, you were with me even when: My son Ian died at age 25.

God, you were with me even when: My husband of almost 30 years left me for a much younger woman, and I didn't want to go on living. You stood by me through my pain and didn't let me die.

God, you were with me even when: We lost our business and went through financial hardship. You helped us see all the important things in our life — our family. You taught us to be less judgmental of others. Through this time you also strengthened our marriage and our faith in you.

God, you were with me even when: No one else was.

I have read that list many times since, and it stops me every time. Radiation treatments. A dying engine in the dark sky over a training base. A marriage that seemed beyond saving. The death of a child. A husband who left after thirty years. A business lost. And underneath every one of those very different stories, the same quiet refrain: you were with me.

Not that the pain was avoided. Not that the outcome was always what they hoped for. But that in the middle of it - something held.

I wonder what your own sentence would say. God, you were with me even when...

Prayer: Loving God, you have promised never to leave us or forsake us. Even when things are at their worst, you are there. We thank you for the witness of others who have been through the darkest of nights and found you faithful. Open our hearts to your presence with us, even now. Amen.

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