Dark

Dark

My day was booked full today, so I got to do an early morning run in the dark. Today is an easy day, so I took just one trip around the lake: 7.38 miles. I started in the dark and finished in the light.

It is interesting that the sunrise is not like turning on a light switch. It is much more gradual. The light didn't come on at 5:58 or 6:23--it happened over the course of 55 minutes.

That seems to be the promise of the Bible: light gradually overcoming darkness. It was dark the day Jesus died. Light was restored the day he rose from the dead. Such is the story of Easter. Frederick Buechner writes of Easter: "If it is true, there is nothing else that needs to be said. If it is not true, there is nothing else that needs to be said. Either way, for the whole world life has never been quite the same since. And for some, neither has death."

I got a second trip around the lake in the evening, just before sunset. I ran with Mark for part of the way and with Charissa the entire 7.38 miles. Mark is training for a triathlon and did a great job. Charissa is about to wear out her treadmill so she will be running outside more. She has some serious running skills. She was pushing 7:00 minutes per mile at the end of the run.

Shortly after I arrived home, the sun set. But the good news is that it will rise tomorrow. Light overcomes darkness just like grace overcomes sin, comedy overcomes tragedy, love overcomes hate, hope overcomes despair, and life overcomes death.

Here is a picture of Benjamin taken today. I pray for him, for you, and for me: light, grace, comedy, love, hope, and life.