Into the darkness

We sat at the back of the ancient French church, settling ourselves before the Lord, admiring the stained glass, aware of the folk lighting candles in one of the chapels. My focus sharpened as I watched a young man light a candle, place it in the stand and then sink onto a bench, head bowed in prayer. He was alone. When he stood up, he pulled out his phone and took a photo of the candle, the flame flickering alongside many others.

My eyes welled with tears. What was his story? We were at the beginning of the Camino: was he sending the picture back to a would-be pilgrim whose illness or circumstances prevented coming? Was he sending the picture back to someone newly bereaved? Or was he keeping the picture for himself, in memory of someone close to him?

‘Into the darkness you shine, out of the ashes we rise’ go the words of a praise song by Chris Tomlin. Isaiah 63 says that God gives a crown of beauty for ashes to all who mourn. Praying this morning for that unknown young man. Praying his pilgrimage has brought light into his darkness, inspired peace and awakened hope, whatever his story is.