Shame, guilt and sin. Those three things mixed together make a concoction worse than any poison man can invent or create. It twists the mind, corrupts thought and breaks us down until we are left empty, a mere shell of the person we were before. Hope fades away into a black abyss of depression and anxiety. As we struggle through the muddy pit we have fallen into, light seems far away—a distant memory of another lifetime.

Yet, through it all, God still calls, and He still pursues. Unfortunately, we have become like Adam and Eve. In our shame and guilt, we have taken to hiding among the trees, desperately grasping onto our fig leaves to hide our sin. He beckons for us to come, but we plunge deeper into the shadows. For, how can we bear to face the holy God in our broken state?

So, we grip the leaves all the tighter, shake our heads, firm our lips and refuse to come out into the light. The darkness is better, it makes us feel safe, at least until we get our life put back together.

However, as time goes on, the leaves begin to rot and wither. We feel the biting coldness of the darkness around us as it pierces through what is left of our covering and freezes the blood in our marrow. A voice calls out, offering warmth, security and love, but we refuse. We continue to clench our fists around the leaves, even though they are falling apart bit by bit, moment by moment. We slink further into the darkness.

Finally, a time comes when the last of the leaves falls away, brown and withered. Then, we see ourselves as we really are: vulnerable, broken and weak. As the last vestiges of hope fade away, a voice calls through. A small spot of light penetrates through the darkness, and we blink in its radiance. Yet, the light seems calming, warm.

We look around at the blackness surrounding us and realize, for the first time, we never had to stay there; we always had a choice. So, we begin to climb out. We push through the thorny bushes and the sharp branches, our eyes focused on the light. Pain hits our body with every thrust forward, but we continue. The darkness cannot hold us anymore.

When we break out of the dark, the light hits us with a burst. We shield our face and wonder if we made the wrong decision. Our Savior stands before us, and we stand before Him, completely undone. Yet, there are no glares, no condescending looks. He stands before us with arms open wide, and we run to Him. We run to Him and to His embrace. He wraps a blanket around us and covers our vulnerability, and He looks us in the eye, His face glowing with love and grace.

Then, we know. Then, we understand. He was the voice in the darkness. He was the light that pierced through the blackness. He was with us all along. We grip the blanket with one hand, and grasp his hand with our other. Without looking back, we follow Him, smiling, into the light and a new dawn.