Brighter Days

Jun. 4, 2022

What a week this has been! It seems that everyone I spoke to was in the same boat: crazy busy and just non-stop with everything. In my day job, I have deadlines and expectations, some of which are dictated by state statute. But when customers come in and need assistance, all the rest of it has to wait. It’s just the nature of the beast. Sometimes, we’ll go hours without anyone coming in, hours without the phone ringing and we can get caught up on the other things that must be done. This week has not been like that. This week felt like Grand Central Station in my office with people coming in and calling with lots of questions that require research and time. But deadlines still need to be met. It can be overwhelming, and when it is sustained day after day, it can wear you down. Don’t get me wrong, busy is good. It’s job security in my line of work and I’d rather be busy than bored. But, non-stop, day after day can be exhausting and defeating.

I was driving home from a friend’s house last night and was struck by how the sky looked. It had been raining on and off all day. In fact, the last couple of days have been rather gloomy, adding to the defeated feeling of the week. But the rain clouds were starting to break up a bit and you could see how low they were. It was almost like they were pushing down on us, but then high above them you could see little bits of blue sky and the last rays of the sun. And I thought, “Finally! The sun is breaking through again!”

It reminded me of a song I have been listening to lately called Brighter Days, by Blessing Offor. (Side note: I think that is just such a cool name for a musician!) The chorus of the song goes:

I know there’s gonna be some brighter days

I swear that love will find you in your pain

I feel it in me like the beating of life in my veins

I know there’s gonna be some brighter days

It’s a beautiful song and I encourage you to listen to it in its entirety. But looking at the sky last night made me think how life can feel like that sometimes. It can feel like the clouds and darkness are just pushing down on us sometimes. And it can be hard to believe it will ever end. But then you catch a glimpse of blue sky, of sunlight, and you remember that the darkness will pass, brighter days will come, and we will be all the stronger for having weathered the storm.

C. S. Lewis once said, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” He also said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” When we focus on our blessings, it is easier to believe that brighter days are coming. They always do. That’s what faith is all about, believing that something good, something better, is coming, especially when we can’t see it. No matter what our struggles are: grief, finances, employment, relationships, better things are coming.

I will end with one of my favorite movie quotes from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: “Everything will work out in the end. If it isn’t working out, it isn’t the end.” Brighter days are coming, my friends. Believe it. Be brave. Be kind.