A Wrinkle in Time

One of my favorite books to read to my students is a well-known story that I did not read until a friend suggested I share it with my fourth graders. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is very imaginative story that deals with some difficult subjects in a creative way. An awkward preteen, Meg, journeys through time and space to find her father, a scientist. From space, looking back on our own Earth, she sees a dark shadow creeping up, and she notices that some planets have already succumb to complete darkness while others are still radiant. As Meg learns from her companions, Earth is somewhere in the middle. Meg learns that it is the great artists, thinkers, leaders, philosophers, and even the stars that are fighting off the darkness. Yesterday, on our return from the Caribbean side of Panama, the sky turned grey, but as I looked towards the southern sky, I noticed one puffy white cloud gleaming with sunlight. I was reminded of this story, and how much I loved the image of all beings, even the stars uniting to keep the darkness at bay.

Then, I thought of our trip. No single person, nor even a small group of people can completely scare away the darkness that threatens to take over our planet. But does that mean that as an individual, we shouldn’t even try? Of course not. If we all try, even just a little, each and every day to make the world a better place, think of the difference we could make. This week, for us, I can tell by the smiles of those around me, we are a little brighter; our lights are shining. My hope is that after this week, El Espino, too is shining a little brighter. Our mission this week was to share God’s love with the children of this small community. We accomplished that, and I think we also pushed the darkness back, even if just a little bit.

We are on the plane now, starting our descent into Atlanta. Our movie today was Invictus, which I had been wanting to see. In the movie, Morgan Freeman plays a role he was born to play as Nelson Mandela. The movie showed just a few ways of how he was able to spark change and inspire a country. I thought about how Nelson Mandela too kept the darkness at bay, even with something that seems as simple as a rugby game.

As I placed my head on the pillow last night, I thanked God for the nudge to encourage me to come on this trip. I am SO glad I came, and I feel truly blessed for the opportunities that I have had this week. As I look forward to next few days, weeks, and years, I know I’ll carry this experience with me. I hope to continue trying to make a difference, no matter how small in this world. I hope to continue to join the stars in the quest to keep darkness away from our beautiful planet. May God bless you and help you to find your own way to keep the darkness at bay.