Here at 412teens.org, we are building relationships and community to encourage and strengthen the faith of Christian teens and young adults seeking to glorify God with their lives. One of the ways we do this is by helping teens find biblical answers to their personalized questions through our Q&A system.
Since our Q&A is open 24/7, we get a LOT of questions, and many of teens send in multiple questions each month. We have gotten to know so many young Christians this way—learning their stories, encouraging them, grieving with them, and watching as they struggle and grow in their faith in supernatural ways.
One of our 412teens friends has journeyed with us for the last few years, and we have gone through hardships, heartache, and horrible trauma with them. They recently sent us a beautiful poem that eloquently expresses the truth of how balancing the dark with the light is a very real part of what it means to walk with God as we walk through a dark world in the Christian faith.
I asked B for permission to share this on 412teens and got approval. May you be encouraged and blessed by B's poetry below.
—Cat
Walk through valley of darkest night,
where earthly good is out of sight.
Christian, come, feel the cold —
the pitch of darkness formed of old.
Come to the table and taste despair,
but see to it that you don't lose care.
Hear the screams, late at night,
desperate searching for the light.
Fall now deep, into dirt,
stop and feel this deepest hurt.
But Christian look: see the cross.
Behold the day when all was lost.
Steady now, your sight will fade,
your only hope is in the grave.
Hide in this valley, it's time to die.
There's no more reason to question why.
So bleed out now and wait for death;
listen for your final breath.
But Christian look, lift your head,
because your Savior is no longer dead.
So lift your voice and in darkness sing,
because the coming death has lost its sting.
So Christian hope, and don't lose sight.
Continue through this fiercest fight.
Now cling to Christ, and hold on tight —
because after darkness comes the light.
—B
Cat is the web producer and editor of 412teens.org. She is known as "412teens" on the 412teens Discord. She loves audiobooks, feeding the people she cares about, and using Christmas lights to illuminate a room. When Catiana is not cooking, gardening, or practicing creativity, she enjoys spending time with her two kids, five socially-awkward cats, and her amazing friend-amily.
