May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

I peer around a bush and watch the pond for long moments. The water is glass. Insects hang in the air like tan-colored clouds—caddis and mayflies and midges. The sun reflects a russet glow across the surface of the pool.

The Magic Hour

It is the magic hour, that misty moment that takes all of the day’s promise and pours it into the last, lingering light of sunset. I watch trout rise at the tail-out of the pond, taking floating insects with quiet efficiency, noses breaking the still of the water, evidence of the life beneath.

There is only light enough to tie on one more fly. My hand hovers over a promising candidate, genuflecting in the growing shadows, my choice a prayer. With shaking fingers I tie on an elk-hair caddis and dress it with floatant.

All the while I watch the water. One nose seems larger than the others. It rises at regular intervals, always in the same place. I see the dark “V” of the snout against the sun’s reflected glow. I hear the soft “plop” as a luckless insect disappears and only an emptiness is left behind.

From my knees I false-cast upstream, feeding line to my rod in a way that won’t spook the trout. A final flick of wrist and my fly hovers weightless above the water, settling down to dimple the water’s surface and then bump along with the current.

I hold my breath.

The water bulges beneath my fly. The nose appears again. And when it slides beneath the surface once more, my fly is gone. I raise the rod tip. I feel the sudden life. My heart sings.

Moments later (or is it a life-time?), I sit at the edge of the pool, my boots in the water, watching the dying day. I have the smell of trout on my hands. The big brown that had come out to play with me is safely back in his home waters. I smile against the gathering darkness.

The Gathering Darkness

I do that in much of my life, actually—smile against the gathering darkness. I know there is not much time left to us. I know the darkness will be upon us soon. I cannot stop the march of time. I can only decide how to face it.

Smiling is not the reaction you might expect. There are those who insist the encroaching darkness should be mourned. Others watch the fading light with fear. I understand both reactions. I’ve felt both, truth be told. But in my better moments, I neither mourn nor fear.

I hope. For I can’t help believing that we are living in the magic hour—the time at the end of day when all the world’s promise and all of creation’s potential is poured into the last, lingering light of the age. Opportunity hovers around us. The air is pregnant with possibilities.

But in that misty moment, we must decide how we will meet the day’s end. Do we pack up, turn our back on the darkening world, and set our eyes on home? Or do we remain, kneeling beside the pond of our world, scanning the surface for signs of life beneath? Do we use the last of the light to make our way to safety and comfort? Or do we, with trembling hands, tie on one more offering to cast upon the water?

There are those who have decided the world is hopeless. They’re tired of wading and watching and casting. As shadows lengthen, they want nothing else but to go home. Yet they will miss the magic hour if they do. They will miss the final catch—perhaps the best catch—of the day.

There is a time for going home. But it’s not yet. Light still remains. And while I have light, I have hope. I tie it at the end of my line. I cast it upon the water. I feel the sudden life. My heart sings. |L

Dr. Tim Woodroof is senior minister of Otter Creek Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee.

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells