MARCH 20
The plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as
under sunshine.
—WILLIAM ELLERY
CHANNINGAfter a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one, we
may feel as though our life has stopped. Nothing can go
forward after this. What sense can we make of the rest of
our life?
Fortunately, life will pull us along, whether or not we give
it our blessing. And one day, like a storm that passes, we
will see light again, and realize that during all the time we
felt lost in darkness and confusion, processes of healing and
growth were doing their slow and often silent work. We
have not lost time at all, but like the seed that has lain appar-
ently inert in the ground all winter and now is ready to begin
its springtime dance, we have been moved along in steady
and unseen ways into new life. Like the butterfly emerging
from the cocoon after a long darkness, we will shake cater-
pillar dust from our wings and realize we can fly.
Sometimes I feel frozen in place, as though I will never move or
grow again. But all the time, One who is higher than I is leading
me through this dark land.