Stephen Jackson writes:

Let me share with you a poem for Epiphany – though I do not think the poet was a Christian, and the poem’s theme is not specifically Christian either! Since I first read this short work recently, it’s kept coming back into my mind, and at different times I have found it annoying, challenging or inspiring. Here it is:

The Uses of Sorrow by Mary Oliver

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem).

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.”

Of course, sorrow comes in many forms, but I suppose it’s not surprising that, as someone who lives with ME, I immediately saw this as my ‘box full of darkness’. It feels hard, though, to regard chronic illness as a gift, and to do so can seem like a belittling of the suffering it can cause. Moreover, like – I imagine – most Unitarians, I do not think it at all likely that people are chosen to have illnesses as part of a divine plan for our lives, and even less do I think sickness is some kind of spiritual test or punishment.

I do, however, think that those of us who have long-term health problems may get – along with the suffering – some experiences, insights and sympathies that we otherwise probably wouldn’t have. It seems to me that, if we choose to, we can see this as a kind of gift that, when we are strong enough, we can use to listen to, understand and support others.

First, though, as with any present, we have be prepared to open the box, let some light in, see what we have been given, then take it out and put it to use.”