Let­ter From the Ed­i­tor

This is my tenth se­mes­ter with the Bea­con. De­spite my love for this com­mu­nity, I some­times feel at a loss for what to write or share. We have been through sev­eral hard­ships to­gether these past cou­ple of years, and the heal­ing process al­ways takes time. The heal­ing process can serve to bring us to­gether, which I have been blessed to see hap­pen on many oc­ca­sions, but it can also drive us apart.  

One of the main rea­sons I’ve seen heal­ing be­come a di­vid­ing point is be­cause of the dif­fer­ent rates at which we are heal­ing. Some peo­ple’s grief may be over in a mo­ment, while oth­ers’ grief may take years to tran­si­tion from an open wound to a ten­der scar. It can be dif­fi­cult to show grace and com­pas­sion to peo­ple who are in a dif­fer­ent part of their jour­ney than we are, and it can be awk­ward to try to fig­ure out how best to be a bless­ing to those still strug­gling with an open wound. 

So, for this let­ter, I want to do some­thing a lit­tle dif­fer­ent. I want to share with you a few of the quotes and songs that have been a bless­ing to me over the last few years. These are not meant to re­solve prob­lems or even to speed up the heal­ing process; rather, they are in­tended to give you the op­por­tu­nity to take a mo­ment, to re­flect, to feel your pain, and to re­mem­ber that you are not alone. 

“You are braver than you be­lieve, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” -A. A. Milne 

"The steps of a good man are or­dered by the LORD: and he de­lighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be ut­terly cast down: for the LORD up­hold­eth him with his hand." -Psalm 37:23-24 

“Even dark­ness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer.” -J. R. R. Tolkien 

“To be no­body but your­self in a world which is do­ing its best day and night to make you like every­body else means to fight the hard­est bat­tle which any hu­man be­ing can fight and never stop fight­ing.” -E. E. Cum­mings 

“You can't go back and change the be­gin­ning, but you can start where you are and change the end­ing.” -C. S. Lewis 

“My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thou­sand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been look­ing for­ward to a world where I shall get com­pen­sa­tion for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as it­self a pre­sent glory. Thou, Di­vine Love, whose hu­man path has been per­fected through suf­fer­ings, teach me the glory of my cross, teach me the value of my thorn.” -George Math­e­son 

“The eter­nal God is thy refuge, and un­der­neath are the ever­last­ing arms: and he shall thrust out the en­emy from be­fore thee; and shall say, De­stroy them.” -Deuteron­omy 33:27 

Songs that have given me space to breathe: 

“Be Kind to Your­self,” and “To All the Po­ets I Have Known,” by An­drew Pe­ter­son 

“Spar­rows and Lil­lies,” by Pat Bar­rett 

“Price­less,” and “Cease­fire,” by For King and Coun­try 

“Al­ways Re­mem­ber to Never For­get,” by Christy Nock­els 

You are never alone. There are peo­ple in this com­mu­nity who want you to talk to them. We were cre­ated to need one an­other. 

Let’s not ne­glect to love oth­ers, and let us not strip oth­ers of the op­por­tu­nity to love us. 

We are beloved. 

Sin­cerely, 

Bri­anna Rae Dens­more