I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber …
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
Psalm 121
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Life is fragile.
Yet, we aren’t always thinking about it or else we would be consumed with fear. God has given us the ability to live without looking behind our backs every minute. Even when tragedy comes, we soon forget in the sense that it doesn’t “stay” with us the way it felt in those initial days or weeks or it would crush us.
Consider how God has created us with what some call the “human spirit” to continue on despite.
It’s true. I just attribute this as God given.
When we create something -whether painting a room or decorating a cake – we step back and look at it from a different angle. We should do this with our life, too. Sometimes we have to see things in a different light. When we do, we find that God does love us – even when bad things happen. He has given us more than we realize to help us. We just need to see it.
I am amazed when my heart is heavy with sorrow, I find myself smiling at something.
Have you thought why this is?
Sorrow and joy are inseparable. We may think we are feeling one or the other but they operate together.
While walking down the street one day during the deepest sorrow of my life, the autumn wind caught some fallen leaves and they swirled around me, starting at my feet and up over my head. It tickled and I laughed. I knew it was God focusing his attention on me and telling me all was well. Not that it would be well. But it was well right then and there.
Psalm 13 reveals the psalmist’s sorrow and joy dwelling together.
Perhaps you can think of moments when you felt a smile – even when you were hurting very badly. This reveals God’s care or else we would be completely destroyed by sorrow.
As I have been writing here since February, I have slowly defined who I am and have become more focused. If you’ve been reading, you know I am a Christian. God has been my anchor and the guidance of the scriptures have been indelible upon my life.
There are alot of Christians out there. We come in all shapes and sizes. If it’s confusing to me, I imagine it is certainly confusing to you.
My heart is to wade through the confusion. And as I’ve done it in my life, I hope to help you. Because at the end of the day, peace of mind and a joyful heart is everything. And only God can give it.
Who I Am:
We’ve all been hurt. But I carry upon my heart a wound so big that only God was sufficient to place his hand upon it.
I do not have a degree in therapy, psychology, psychiatry, or counseling. I am a mother who has walked through the valley of the shadow of death. I am one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread – without today’s Christian pat answers.
God is so great in his love, He continually places sure footing before our steps – even when we have messed up. God doesn’t sit back like some of us do, just waiting for the ax to fall on someone. His mercy is so great and His compassion is so deep that He weeps over us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
-The Bible
Why are we surprised when we have to suffer?
Especially in the American culture – our first response is disbelief. How can this happen to me? Why did this happen to me?
If the Son of God endured pain and suffering, is it really unimaginable that we should suffer?
Yet, in the suffering there are wonderful treasures to be discovered. Even the natural realm reveals the benefits of the processes and pressures involved. The crushing of olives for olive oil, the friction of sand to make a pearl, and the heat required to purify gold.
We don’t look for suffering as if it will make us better people. We accept it when it comes. This is not a defeatist mentality. It is faith when we walk through it with courage and strength, allowing God to do what he says he will do.
I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Isaiah 51:12
Even nature knows where to find what it needs.
In one moment, everything can change.
Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s bad.
What do we say to someone who lost a brother, daughter, sister, husband, girlfriend … in the movie theater massacre?
What do we say to the man who lost his wife, mother, and two teenage daughters in a car accident a few days ago?
People offer condolences those first days. Everyone is gripped with the soberness of sudden death. Our lives suddenly stop. It could have happened to me we think.
But then, there are the weeks and months following when very few, if any, seem to remember your loss.
The pain doesn’t end after the funeral.
If you know someone who has lost a friend or family member, remember them. Don’t think that someone else is doing it. They’re not.
If you are the one who is lonely in your grief, you are not alone. Even if you don’t believe or are not sure about God … he’s sure about you … and he’s with you.
June 13th was the last time we had rain. I watered the flower and vegetable garden every day, but the grass turned brown and was thirsty for rain.
I had never seen it this dry.
One day, I was watering the cucumbers and squash, and I noticed a grasshopper jumping into the spray. It just sat there, enjoying the moisture. I supposed he would crawl under a large, green leaf and drink the droplets that rested on the surface. I thought about how much it meant to an insect to have a drink.
Today it rained. Hard. With clamoring thunder, dangerous lightening, and strong wind included. But the sky had opened up and watered the earth with a vengeance. It was as if to the degree the earth was suffering, that was to the degree in which the rain had to come.
As I watched the water pool in places on the parched lawn, I thought about how welcoming it must feel for the roots struggling below.
God takes care of the earth. The rain came when it needed to come. It could have come sooner since there was visible damage. But it did not come too late.
God takes care of you. If you only knew the enormity of his unconditional love for you! The earth didn’t do anything to cause it’s drought, nor did it do anything to deserve to be watered. You are of more value than dirt.
Whatever you are going through, your heart may be very parched and dry. Your mind may be tired and your soul weary. God knows exactly when it will be time to bring you out of your distress.
He knows when to send the rain.
Pain disrupts the rhythm of our life.
Our hearts are like dry soil.
God waters the earth when it is time.
And the rhythm returns.
when it hurts 