The Road Before
The road before her was dark,
A trail of foreboding trees.
The moon was her only light,
And the sun had slipped away with ease.
She had begun her journey in daylight,
When the sun had been so bright,
But now the sun was setting
And she feared it would soon be night.
Her journey had once seemed promising;
She had looked forward to days ahead.
But ever since she had left the light,
Her heart was filled with a dread.
“And exile drive by Fate” was she,
But what would her Fate be?
The road that once had seemed so clear
Now could barely be seen. (Aeneid, 1.1).
Her plans of which she had once been so sure
Were dissolving before her eyes,
And she had no clue where she might end up
If and when the sun did arise.
She felt so very lost from truth;
She felt distant from what she once knew.
But even more so than her once comfortable life,
She felt distant from God, too.
She continued about the path she was on,
Wandering among the trees,
When a sudden, new feeling entered her heart,
A deathly-lethal disease.
Anxiety had gripped her heart and mind,
Making it hard now to breathe.
She wondered how much longer it may last,
And she knew she needed relief.
“How much longer must I suffer, God?
Will I ever find rest in You?
You’ve been by my side my whole life,
And I know You can get me through.
But ever since I started this walk,
You seem to grow further from me.
‘Who will grant me that You come to my heart?
[Oh God,] what are you to me?’” (Augustine, I.v).
She stopped in her tracks for a moment to pause
And looked behind her to see
That the sun and moon, they were no more
and darkness was all she could see.
She was engulfed in the darkness and was horrified to see
The road before her was gone.
The road behind her had long since passed,
And she could barely see the road she was on.
Her heart was racing, now crippled by Fear
And she dropped down to her knees.
“Oh, dear God,” she prayed aloud,
“Come back in my life! I beg You, God! Please!”
But God did not answer, and Silence reigned,
A Silence that rang much too clear.
“I don’t want to go on. This journey’s against my will.
I might as well stop here (Aneneid, 4.450-451).
Where is the sun when it’s not shining?
Where is love when I can’t feel it?
Where is God when He is silent?
I can’t go on, Lord. I quit” (Arnesen).
She let her head drop to her hands just then,
And she cried great tears of grief.
This monster Anxiety had taken her joy;
It had stolen her life like a thief.
For what felt like eternity, she cried to herself,
Every spark of hope had gone away,
Until suddenly, from nowhere, a voice came to her ear,
A voice she could faintly hear say;
“I know of your struggles, I see your pain,
But believe me, this too shall pass.
You have to be patient, you must be brave,
You mustn’t be consumed by the past.
Life is not a race, dear friend, you must take it slow.
A single day completes not spring.
A fleeting moment cannot bring true happiness
To these truths I beg you to cling (Aristotle, 1098a 17-18).
The questions you just asked are dear to me,
And you were right about all those things.
We can’t always see God, true love or the sun,
But I can give you a new song to sing.
Believe in God even when He is silent,
Believe in the sun when you can’t see.
Believe in love when you have no feelings.
These words, my friend, will set you free (Arnesen).
The girl looked up from her tears to see
A being of radiant light.
It was clothed in sunshine and colorful majesty,
The smile in its eyes was bright.
She asked of its name and the being glowed with joy,
“I am Daylight,” was its cordial reply.
“Anxiety is a beast that makes it hard to breathe
So now I’m here to help you fly.”
“But I can’t go on; I’m much too tired
I don’t even know where I am.
My life has no meaning; I can’t find my way.
What makes you think you can?”
“Trust me,” Daylight whispered, and took her by the hand,
And together they walked in the night.
For miles, it seemed, they walked in the dark
Until suddenly, there was a faint light!
“Look at where we are now, my friend,
Look! See how far you’ve come.
Please, don’t ever say your life is a waste
When the Almighty is where your life comes from (Augustine, I.ii).
In a blink, the being vanished into the air
And the girl was there all alone.
But she was standing on a mountain top now, looking down,
And the entire world was below.
The sun shone on everything, darkness had run away,
And the path before her was clear.
She dared to hope she had found some haven;
She trusted better days were near (Aeneid, 1.45-47).
“Maybe Daylight was right,” she said “Maybe darkness needed to pass.
Maybe God has a plan.
Maybe He takes us through horrid, dark times
To make us conquer what we can.
Maybe Darkness will always be present;
It will always be looming somewhere.
But daybreak is near and fated to appear,
And I can press on, if I dare.”
So she began down the mountain top, following the sun,
And pressed onward to the road below.
She knew the road could be rocky or smooth,
But she was willing to take it slow.
And as she walked along the road, following the sun,
She discovered new hope in her heart,
She remembered the song Daylight sang.
And she sang it aloud from the start.
Believe in God even when He is silent,
Believe in the sun when you can’t see.
Believe in love when you have no feelings.
These words, my friend, will set you free (Arnesen).
Additional Citation:
Arnesen, Kim Andre “Even When He is Silent”, 2011
A trail of foreboding trees.
The moon was her only light,
And the sun had slipped away with ease.
She had begun her journey in daylight,
When the sun had been so bright,
But now the sun was setting
And she feared it would soon be night.
Her journey had once seemed promising;
She had looked forward to days ahead.
But ever since she had left the light,
Her heart was filled with a dread.
“And exile drive by Fate” was she,
But what would her Fate be?
The road that once had seemed so clear
Now could barely be seen. (Aeneid, 1.1).
Her plans of which she had once been so sure
Were dissolving before her eyes,
And she had no clue where she might end up
If and when the sun did arise.
She felt so very lost from truth;
She felt distant from what she once knew.
But even more so than her once comfortable life,
She felt distant from God, too.
She continued about the path she was on,
Wandering among the trees,
When a sudden, new feeling entered her heart,
A deathly-lethal disease.
Anxiety had gripped her heart and mind,
Making it hard now to breathe.
She wondered how much longer it may last,
And she knew she needed relief.
“How much longer must I suffer, God?
Will I ever find rest in You?
You’ve been by my side my whole life,
And I know You can get me through.
But ever since I started this walk,
You seem to grow further from me.
‘Who will grant me that You come to my heart?
[Oh God,] what are you to me?’” (Augustine, I.v).
She stopped in her tracks for a moment to pause
And looked behind her to see
That the sun and moon, they were no more
and darkness was all she could see.
She was engulfed in the darkness and was horrified to see
The road before her was gone.
The road behind her had long since passed,
And she could barely see the road she was on.
Her heart was racing, now crippled by Fear
And she dropped down to her knees.
“Oh, dear God,” she prayed aloud,
“Come back in my life! I beg You, God! Please!”
But God did not answer, and Silence reigned,
A Silence that rang much too clear.
“I don’t want to go on. This journey’s against my will.
I might as well stop here (Aneneid, 4.450-451).
Where is the sun when it’s not shining?
Where is love when I can’t feel it?
Where is God when He is silent?
I can’t go on, Lord. I quit” (Arnesen).
She let her head drop to her hands just then,
And she cried great tears of grief.
This monster Anxiety had taken her joy;
It had stolen her life like a thief.
For what felt like eternity, she cried to herself,
Every spark of hope had gone away,
Until suddenly, from nowhere, a voice came to her ear,
A voice she could faintly hear say;
“I know of your struggles, I see your pain,
But believe me, this too shall pass.
You have to be patient, you must be brave,
You mustn’t be consumed by the past.
Life is not a race, dear friend, you must take it slow.
A single day completes not spring.
A fleeting moment cannot bring true happiness
To these truths I beg you to cling (Aristotle, 1098a 17-18).
The questions you just asked are dear to me,
And you were right about all those things.
We can’t always see God, true love or the sun,
But I can give you a new song to sing.
Believe in God even when He is silent,
Believe in the sun when you can’t see.
Believe in love when you have no feelings.
These words, my friend, will set you free (Arnesen).
The girl looked up from her tears to see
A being of radiant light.
It was clothed in sunshine and colorful majesty,
The smile in its eyes was bright.
She asked of its name and the being glowed with joy,
“I am Daylight,” was its cordial reply.
“Anxiety is a beast that makes it hard to breathe
So now I’m here to help you fly.”
“But I can’t go on; I’m much too tired
I don’t even know where I am.
My life has no meaning; I can’t find my way.
What makes you think you can?”
“Trust me,” Daylight whispered, and took her by the hand,
And together they walked in the night.
For miles, it seemed, they walked in the dark
Until suddenly, there was a faint light!
“Look at where we are now, my friend,
Look! See how far you’ve come.
Please, don’t ever say your life is a waste
When the Almighty is where your life comes from (Augustine, I.ii).
In a blink, the being vanished into the air
And the girl was there all alone.
But she was standing on a mountain top now, looking down,
And the entire world was below.
The sun shone on everything, darkness had run away,
And the path before her was clear.
She dared to hope she had found some haven;
She trusted better days were near (Aeneid, 1.45-47).
“Maybe Daylight was right,” she said “Maybe darkness needed to pass.
Maybe God has a plan.
Maybe He takes us through horrid, dark times
To make us conquer what we can.
Maybe Darkness will always be present;
It will always be looming somewhere.
But daybreak is near and fated to appear,
And I can press on, if I dare.”
So she began down the mountain top, following the sun,
And pressed onward to the road below.
She knew the road could be rocky or smooth,
But she was willing to take it slow.
And as she walked along the road, following the sun,
She discovered new hope in her heart,
She remembered the song Daylight sang.
And she sang it aloud from the start.
Believe in God even when He is silent,
Believe in the sun when you can’t see.
Believe in love when you have no feelings.
These words, my friend, will set you free (Arnesen).
Additional Citation:
Arnesen, Kim Andre “Even When He is Silent”, 2011
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