Practicing the Presence of God, in the Days of Growing Darkness
by Lorie Martin
Growing darkness… tis the season where we wake-up mostly just to turn around and re-enter our cozy nests curling the blankets securely around our neck, so the draft doesn’t get us. The brief hours or simple moments of light that touch our cheeks are so fleeting. Then there is that hour change that doesn’t happen – for better or for worse. The damp dreary days of the Westcoast also remind us that we are in a season and space of slow, simple, perhaps a bit more sedentary, to match the bout of dark night of soul we may be bewildered at as well. How exceptionally reassuring it is to know that… ‘this is okay… and so are we.’ There just may be something hibernating beyond our reach that the presence and action of Spirit is up to that does not require our assistance, in the basement of our being. Perhaps it is time to consent to this deep regeneration within as does the wise willow out my window. Could this be a chosen time to surrender anxious trying, desperate clinging, incessant craving, and unnecessary struggle to once again abandon our whole selves into the glorious Mystery of Christ – the light of life (John 8:2).
Author Katherine May, in Wintering, The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, says it this way, “Ultimately, Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times.” May invites us to find nourishment in deep retreat and in the hushed beauty of these days. She encourages us at times to consider being busy doing nothing.” I wonder what entering ‘nothingness’ is like – being still long enough to enter intentional deep rest where we draw from a deeper Source, The Living Water of Infinite Love and Mercy that encompass us as a warm winter quilt.
Perhaps in these lengthening days of growing darkness, find a church or quiet space, to sit quietly doing nothing but listen, feel, contemplate and imbibe the unending Wellspring that is pregnant with peace. Rest here. In solitude. Where it is not lonely. Perhaps in the respite, in the Selah within the sanctuary of the sanctuary, while being a church mouse perched on an empty pew or wherever you gravitate for sacred space in these ‘crisping days’, these words of chant can accompany you.
Draw me deeper into silence, draw me deeper into you. no credit
I am Present to the Presence, it is my only care,
I am held by the Presence, the fountain of creative love. Kristy Christian
Within our darkest night, you kindle a fire that never dies away,
that never dies away. Taize
Lorie Martin - Fall 2026
Inspired by In the Days of Growing Darkness, by Mary Oliver
Lorie Martin
Lorie is a retreat leader, spiritual director, author, and clergy in the Anglican Church of Canada. She is passionate about “soul tending” and highly values Wisdom teaching, contemplative practice, creating sacred spaces, and gathering together in community. Lorie is the Director of The Centre for Spiritual Renewal, which has 8 locations throughout the Lower Mainland of B.C., Canada. She and her husband, Dwight, raised 5 children and now live at Lindell Beach near the water in the woods, and enjoy their grandchildren, paddling and campfires. Lorie has served on the Society’s Board of Directors since 2022, as Chair of its Retreats/Events Planning Committee (REPC) since 2023, and served as its Vice-President from 2024 to 2025.
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