Beholding

“Into the darkness a light has shone…”
And I squinted.
Glorious life-transforming light
But my soul drew back because I was afraid.

For the light exposes my shame.
Freedom exposes my slavery
Hope exposes my despair
Eternity exposes my frame.

I’ve heard this light has come to condemn
The light to say that I’m beyond repair.
You say you’ve come to heal and
my heart longs for your embrace.

This Advent, teach me to trust that
Hope lies not in beholding but being held.
That the light has come to make all things new.

Even now. Even me.

From one glory to another.

-Ryan Doughty 2021