Friday, September 28, 2012

Take My Hand

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark."
 - Helen Keller

Sometimes, I think we experience heartache and pain not only because it makes us stronger but because it reminds us to be humble...it reminds us that we all fall short and we ALL need grace and at some point, we let go of pride and admit that we can't do it alone.  It's at this point, I believe people are sent to help us and show us that we aren't alone, reminding us that just because we've failed, this doesn't mean we can't start again. (God will never leave you, nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5)

I picture disaster, houses ripped apart, people crying, clouds hanging over a sunken, once beautiful, neighborhood.  And I picture myself standing right in the middle of the chaos with a lifeless expression in consumed confusion, hearing my heart beat slow while I try to organize my thoughts and show some sign of mobility.  How many other people are here, in this exact place, experiencing this exact moment?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding - in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Prov. 3:5-6

I believe when we realize our struggles develop perseverance and strength, we can look through the darkness and see some tiny glimmer of light - it may be far, FAR, ahead and nearly inconceivable - but something in us says it's there...when storms are raging through our lives and nothing seems to be going the way we planned, we're broken and it feels as though we're falling deeper and deeper into a hole; that is when hope takes over and grace reminds us that "sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning." Ps. 30:5

I've lost many battles in these recent years, and I've experienced more heartache than I thought possible, and I've had much pain. But it's in these moments of despair and brokenness, I remember how I overcame the time before, and the time before that, and the time before that...and I know that this too shall pass.


What I've learned of my heartache and pain is this; through the ruin, I gain more heart.  Through the storm, I am changed.  Through the brokenness, I am strong.  Through the destruction, I have a new beginning.  It's grace that guides me and raises me to a higher calling...to know that life is more than it seems and though I may suffer, mercy is new every morning.

  "We are full of joy even when we suffer.  Because we know that our suffering gives us  perseverance.  Perseverance produces character.  Character produces hope.  And hope will never disappoint." Romans 5:3-5

Nothing that happens in our lives is accidental.  Everything happens for a reason and though it may not make sense, I trust that God has a plan for me and for you - He has a hope and a future for us all and through every victory and every loss, he puts them all in place and they shapes us into the person we were meant to be. (Jeremiah 29:11)

"I believe that it may happen that one will succeed, and one must not begin to despair, even though defeated here and there; and even though one sometimes feels a kind of decay, though things go differently from the expected, it is necessary to take heart again and new courage.  For the great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.  And great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed."  - Vincent Van Gogh

Remember, with each new day, we receive grace - grace is not given so that we can sit back and glory in our success or happiness, it's given so that we can share it with others.  To receive grace is to receive a gift that is not truly ours to take...let it be a reminder of yesterday's struggle to compel us to share it with others for tomorrow's purpose.