“I have fought a battle with the spirits of darkness over one soul. How terribly Satan hates God’s mercy! I see how he opposes this whole work!” (Diary 812)
Suppose someone told you that it is a matter of life or death that you must walk through a tunnel of darkness in order to come to the light of life on the other side. The only other option would be to live in pain and destruction with no escape.
No one you could see or feel could walk through it with you, but you are promised this person would be at your disposal. You would be able to speak to them and they would help you combat any obstacles you may face. It would take a lot of trust in that persons love and care for your welfare to begin the journey. Maybe you do not know that person well, perhaps, you’ve heard of them in a superficial way and know that they have aided others, but you have no personal relationship with them.
So, how do you trust? One step at a time. As you slowly move through and learn, through each step, that the person can be trusted, you begin to trust more to take the next step and the next. Soon, even though walking through danger, you come to believe you will, with the help of that person come out of the other side safely.
Walking in a tunnel of darkness is a difficult thing for anyone. Our senses are off balance and we have no control over our fate. Every step is full of fear. We are afraid of imminent danger. We don’t know what is before us. We imagine all the possibilities we are most afraid of creeping up on us and destroying us. There may be something ahead that causes us to fall, or more frightening there may be ghosts of our past lurking in the distance waiting to do us harm.
This walk is especially difficult for those post abortive that have oftentimes experienced complete isolation and abandonment. It takes a courage found out of desperation, a belief that it is worth the risk to come to the end of the pain. A trust in the merciful love of Jesus Christ our Savior and guide through the journey.
It is frightening, but what is the choice? Do we proceed, or do we choose to live out our lives in pain and the agony we have been experiencing? To do so would be to live our lives without love. Take a risk, one step at a time…He will not abandon you!
“The Lord is good and his faithfulness never abandons us because he is always ready to sustain us with his merciful love. With this confidence, the psalmist yields to God's embrace: “Learn to savor how good the Lord is,” Pope John Paul II (General Audience, January 8, 2003)
Excerpt from "A Journey to Healing Through Divine Mercy"
