A shiver ran through Patrick and he pulled his blanket tighter. The hard earth and cold night air reminded him that he was no longer as young as the men who slept around him.
The campfire had burned to embers but there was no reason to rebuild it. They would be leaving soon.
The pale moonlight provided enough light to see down the hillside and into the valley in front of them. Any detail was still shrouded in darkness. He tried not to imagine the fire’s destruction. In his mind’s eye, he could still picture everything as he had always known it.
He knew better. There was no way to tell if the fire had been caused by an enemy, accident or act of nature. Whatever the cause, from his home many miles away, the glow of the flames had foretold what he would find in the valley.
He had quickly collected help and supplies and immediately set out on the trip. Now sitting silently in the restless time before daybreak, he held onto hope that his neighbors had escaped the blazes.
The younger men with him slept soundly. He knew they were dreaming of the job in front of them, how they would use their strength to bring comfort and protection, and of the stories they would share when it was over.
Patrick had no such thoughts. Hardships, years, and the pains of great loss all ran together. He couldn’t see what lay ahead, but he knew the danger was real.
Wrapped tightly against the cold, his thoughts carried him back to better times he had enjoyed in this valley, when he had eaten dinner with the sounds of music and laughter echoing off the hill he now sat on.
He remembered the children smiling as they played, the elders telling stories, the women cleaning and polishing the keepsakes they reserved for guests, and the men watching proudly over their families as they relaxed at the end of a hard day. In his mind’s eye, he shifted his gaze from person to person, saying their names like some sort of hopeful roll call.
Fear gripped his heart. Threats that would take life indiscriminately haunted his thoughts. In the midst of a hard life, the pain and loss of young ones tormented him most.
Children look up into your eyes, trusting you to care for them. They place a simple faith in you to protect them. Their innocence is a blossom of hope in an unworthy world. He would gladly forfeit himself for them. He silently prayed “Please, Father. Spare them.”
In the midst of circumstances he could not understand, Patrick held onto his faith. Whatever awaited him, he placed himself in the hands of a Father who could save through the fire, heal with a touch or restore what had been broken. Even if He didn’t, Patrick would glorify him.
During dark times, Patrick knew that he had to make a choice. He could submit to his fears and rely on his own strength for protection. He could shut out the pain and numb himself from the sadness around him.
Instead, he chose to ignore likelihood and probabilities. He released his desire for control. He held tightly onto hope that he would find life in the valley, hope that better times lay ahead.
He awoke from his thoughts at the sound of the others stirring from their sleep. The sun was beginning to rise and the first brushstrokes of color began to fill the sky.
Patrick wondered what the day would hold. His looked at the young men with him and then into the valley where they would soon go. What will he find there? Are his neighbors safe? Is the danger behind them? Nothing was certain.
He stood up slowly, stretching muscles and joints that loudly complained about his unwelcome bed. Looking into the coming sunlight, he collected his thoughts.
To bring life into the valley, he must force out the darkness inside him. He released thoughts of his own safety. He released concern about whether he was adequate to the challenges ahead. He let go of his anger at an unfair world.
With these cleared from his mind, he held tightly to what was left. These three remained: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
The first rays of light filled the valley.
