Hope in the darkness

The following post is the written version of the featured video.

If there's anything we've learned in 2020, it's that we don't have a clear idea or vision of what will happen next in this world. With everything that's going on, from the pandemic, to the protests, and now the politics of the upcoming US election, we don't seem to be getting a break, do we?

These past two months have been strange ones, as the reality of climate change also hit us here in California. The recent wildfires is something I've never witnessed at such an extreme level in over ten years of living in the Bay Area. As the fires continued to burn, the skies turned an eerie orange and red, and light flooded into households with an ominous, apocalyptic tint for the majority of the past two months. Some days were entirely dark due to the heavy smoke that blocked the brightness of the California sun, forcing us to stay indoors with windows shut and lights turned on all day. We never know when another wildfire will appear or which way the wind will carry the smoke next.

As someone who advocates for a cleaner planet, my heart broke to see the wildfires affect our local communities. Historic forests burned, families were displaced, and animals were forced to flee from their homes. I'm thankful that my family and friends are safe, but I'm all the more aware of the growing effects of climate change. The earth continues to hit record temperatures, experience more substantial natural disasters, all while companies seem to be slow to change, governments even slower. It's easy to look at our current situation in despair, whether it's climate change or something else happening this year, and experience depression, anxiety, grief, and distress.

I can't offer any overnight solutions, but my heart keeps tugging me to share something, because I know that this year has been difficult and that I'm not alone in feeling the despair. The many things that have happened this year continue to reflect how broken this world is - the hate, injustice, sickness, and pain. Maybe you're also in northern California, feeling the same depression that has come with the smoke and wildfires, trapped indoors wondering if this is the new normal. Or perhaps you're in another country overseas, where COVID cases only seem to be going up, affecting your loved ones and planting fear and dread in your heart.

Amid the chaos that this year continues to bring, the thing that brings me hope is not this world, but a greater, more perfect world to come. I know that not everyone believes in a God, or in an afterlife, or in the person of Jesus Christ, but as mentioned by CS Lewis, "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."

I genuinely believe that the inherent good of man is a reflection of a good and loving creator. One that sent His Son to repair the brokenness of this world so that we may have a chance at what He first intended, a perfect paradise. A place with no racism, no climate change, no sorrow, no pain, no suffering, no fear. While I've stated that the love of Christ compels me to live the way I do, it is also the power and sovereignty of Christ that gives me hope that He is the one that can ultimately restore this world, and I can find peace in that.

So again, I don't expect my sharing to solve any of the world's problems, nor do I know if any of my words make complete sense. But if you are in a place of darkness and sorrow, I want you to know that I am praying for you, and I will continue to pray for you. I want you to know that there is a God that loves you, a God that gives hope and peace beyond all understanding. You are so precious, so loved, and so important to Him, and He promises you so much more than what this world brings. And as is stated in Revelation 21, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."