The sun is gone down,
And the moon’s in the sky;
But the sun will come up,
And the moon be laid by.
The flower is asleep
But it is not dead;
When the morning shines,
It will lift its head.
When winter comes,
It will die—no, no;
It will only hide
From the frost and the snow.
Sure is the summer,
Sure is the sun;
The night and the winter
Are shadows that run.
— George MacDonald: “At The Back of The North Wind”In George MacDonald’s classic children’s book, “At The Back of The North Wind,” we meet Diamond, a kind-hearted and imaginative little boy who is befriended by the North Wind, who then takes Diamond along on many of her nighttime journeys. In their adventures together, Diamond soon discovers that North Wind is capable of both comforting and terrifying deeds. However, whether they at first appear for good or for ill, North Wind’s actions always seem to result in something positive coming about. This was MacDonald’s way of introducing children, through story, to the Christian’s hope and faith expressed by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
On one of their nighttime adventures, Diamond and North Wind encounter a lady who is unable to sleep on account of the pain in her body. The lady is trying to read, but even that is proving too difficult for her. “Couldn’t you do something for her,” inquires Diamond, to which North Wind responds, “No, I can’t. But you could.” “What could I do?” asks Diamond. “Sing a little song to her,” replies North Wind. And so Diamond begins singing this song:
The sun is gone down, And the moon’s in the sky; But the sun will come up, And the moon be laid by.
Diamond’s song then goes on to paint a picture of Resurrection hope with an image of a flower lying dormant beneath the cold earth, patiently waiting to lift its head once again in a morning when the shadows of night and winter will have finally given way to the sure sun of spring and the warm days of summer. These words in particular: “The flower is asleep but it is not dead; when the morning shines, it will lift its head,” perhaps remind the reader of what Jesus once said about Jairus’ daughter right before He raised her from the dead: “She is not dead, but sleeping” (Luke 8:52).
As soon as Diamond finishes his song, North Wind carries him away. However, Diamond is confused, thinking that the lady, who did not respond to his song, had not heard him.
“Oh, yes, she heard you,” North Wind affirms.
“How could she hear me then?” asks Diamond.
“She didn’t hear you with her ears.”
“What did she hear me with?”
“With her heart.”
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. — Hebrews 11:1
📷 Photo by 🇺🇦 Ukrainian photographer Roman Datsiuk on Unsplash; 🎨 Textual art by MD Sub-creaTions using the Spencerian-based fonts Pinyon Script by Nicole Fally, and Ballet by Maximiliano Sproviero & Eduardo Tunni.