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C U P S A N D W A T E R Standing on stronger ground W H AT I T M E A N S T O R I D D L E T H R O U G H T H E D A R K N E S S STORY BY ERIN ROBINSON HALL I think I could call this my Riddle Era. In this season of life, eager to capture my children's attention and keep the peace, I have learned the power of a riddle. If you see us waiting in carpool or at a restaurant you will hear this latest parenting hack; try to solve a riddle. It usually works to prompt more wondering than sibling bickering. Recently, my husband had us stumped with this one: It can't be seen, touched, heard or smelled. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. The 104 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2026 answer? Darkness. We could have reached this answer easily if we thought of the riddles we face these days. Darkness seems to name the mystifying moments when certainty and platitudes don't cut it anymore. Friends get diagnosed, leaders leave us, jobs change, war begins. Sure things are not so sure. Those of us who profess faith are supposed to lean on spiritual practices in confounding moments. We pray, we sing, we light candles. If we are honest, we o en want these practices to soothe and usher in a happy ending. We want easy answers; instead, we find complexity that requires a particular strength. In her book "Strong Ground" author Brene Brown describes a strength called "negative capability." This is an ability to name the beauty and complexity of difficult experiences and hold them up for the gi s they offer. Brown says we are "wired to resolve tension and seek certainty. The capability requires the courage to reach Captain Amelia Barton is an RAFB chaplain.