Breath of Heaven

Breath of heaven, hold me together; Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven. Breath of heaven, lighten my darkness; Pour over me your holiness, for you are holy. Breath of heaven.

This was my Christmas anthem my freshman year of college, half a lifetime ago. I would wander Minneapolis through the night with this song playing and replaying on my Walkman. Careless and dangerous, yes, but it was invited danger.
Hold me together. My life was torn apart and thrown to the wind. I felt no bearing anymore and didn't think I cared.
Be forever near me? My questions were: Where have you been God and where are you now? Do you even love me? Do you even know? How could you love me?
Lighten my darkness. I had plunged headlong into the great darkness of my life. The great darkness of evil. The great darkness of sin. I had stopped stumbling around in it. Instead, in the darkness, I just fell and waited. I was waiting for someone to even notice my darkness and my defeat. My cries in the night seemed to freeze in the winter chill; my pleas stifled by season's snow. God knows that I was waiting for a Savior, my Savior, the God of my youth.

My reflections have me wondering how many freshman-year "Julie's" surround us in 2010? My Savior, of course, always loved me and was there for me through the bewildering dark. Most people do not have this hope this Christmas. I need to be the one who notices someone else's darkness that Jesus may shine His light on them through me. Watch and pray for opportunities to introduce someone to their long-awaited Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.