A Walk Through the Dark
On January 18, 1989, my husband died. In a matter of seconds, I went from living in the light to walking in the dark.
And I’ve always been afraid of the dark.
I can give no compelling reason for my fear, but it’s there. As a child, I went to sleep with a night-light. At night I still keep the bathroom light on and leave the door slightly open. When I enter our home, I hit the light switches; the more the better. No one will ever find me walking through a pitch-black field or along an unlit beach.
It’s not just the physical darkness. I also strongly dislike being “kept in the dark.” I’m one of those people who reads the first chapter of a book to get the plot and then immediately skips over to the final chapter. Something in me has to know how everything turns out. Only then can I enjoy the middle of the book.
On that day in 1989, I began a walk having no idea how or where it would end, or how long it would take. I couldn’t have prepared for the darkness that began on that chilly, damp January afternoon. Looking back, I sometimes wonder why I had no hint that anything terrible would happen. Even now, I’ll convince myself that I’ve fully embraced the light; and, without warning, I’m stumbling in the darkness again. . . .
“Don’s been in a wreck. We’re trying to find out what happened.”
I stared at her, taking in what she had said.
In that moment, God spoke to me. I didn’t hear an audible voice, yet the message was so clear I couldn’t doubt the reality. This will be difficult, but it’s going to be okay. Don has two broken legs and a broken arm. To some, that probably sounds strange, especially because it was so specific. God had spoken, and there were no doubts. I believe God whispered to me to give me the perfect peace of which the Bible speaks and to prepare me for what was ahead.
“It was a car accident,” Mary Nell added. “I don’t know where.”
I didn’t know where Don was, what had happened, or how seriously he was hurt, but a deep, inner calm came over me. As I stared at her, I could see she was troubled, and I could sense her concern for me. “It’s all right,” I said. “It’s going to be all right.”
From A Walk Through the Dark.© 2013 Eva Piper with Cecil Murphey. (Thomas Nelson) Used by permission.
Millions have read the New York Times bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven. Now you can learn the other side of the story in A Walk Through the Dark. The wife of 90 Minutes in Heaven author Don Piper, Eva was the glue that held her broken husband and her family together. A speaker and author with a unique insight into the trials of heartache and the triumph of overcoming, she and Don now live in Pasadena, Texas.
What happens when your loved one cannot survive without your help? Find out in A Walk Through the Dark,available now at womenoffaith.com.
