Advent Thoughts: Recalled to Life

And do you care to be recalled to life?

Charles Dickens asked this question in his book The Tale of Two Cities. Dr. Manette has been imprisoned in the Bastille, driven to madness. 18 years in pure darkness. But he is released, and a messenger speaks of it as him being "recalled to life". Manette's daughter, Lucie, brings him back to sanity through her love and care. The shadow of the Bastille stays with him to the end of his days, but Lucie always helps him to banish those memories, and eventually overcome them.

Reading that story, I saw a picture of my - our - own redemption. We have been recalled to life, out of the darkness of sin. Recalled to a life full of beauty, wonder, vibrancy, a life so vastly different from the life of darkness.

We do have those days, just like Dr. Manette, when the darkness just overshadows our days. And we feel weary, tired. But then we have our Lucie Manettes also :) Friday was one of those almost purely awful days - just lots of pain, and I felt like a totally incompetent failure. It was my Mom's birthday, and I had to sleep for most of it! I almost called one of my friends to cheer up, but I figured it wouldn't be that helpful to call anyone since I would probably just break down in tears. And besides, I couldn't walk to find the phone (the rest of the family was gone). So I just cried on my bed. For awhile.

But we had a candle in our room, and after the tears, the light just kept on flickering. I was reminded of the hope we have, reminded that the weariness does not last forever, reminded of the heavenly wonders around me. And I was recalled to life.

And this whole beautiful Advent season is a reminder of this amazing truth. That in the dark of the world, one night, Christ-God came down to earth as a child to bring His own children out of the night into everlasting glory. He came to recall us to life.

(of course, there's also the wonderful story of Sydney Carton...)