A Heavy Heart

It's been a while....

I was talking to a friend last week who has a lot on her plate right now. She posed the question, "do you ever feel like just giving up? like crawling in bed and staying there?" (She knows me well, so of course she knew my answer).

Um, HELLO... can I get an Amen on that one??? Boy have I ever!!! So many days I have felt like just throwing in the towel.

It's hard not to be "down" right now... this past week I've fought the "down" feeling hard. Our own country is facing such economic hard times which leaves us all feeling like we're sitting on the edge of our seats all the time waiting on the next ball to drop. But worries about our own country aren't the only thing we've all been thinking about this past week.

The devastation in Haiti is just that, devastating. It's heartbreaking to think of the thousands of people who lost parents, grandparents, children, brothers, sisters, and friends... It's heartbreaking to think of the thousands who don't have clean water to drink or food to eat. Heartbreaking and humbling.

I read somewhere this past week about how some of the Haitian people were saying that God despised Haiti. I could imagine that they might feel that way. What I'd tell them is that God is loving and merciful, but the world we live in is fallen. A world cursed by man's first sin. Bad things are going to happen. These things don't mean that God loves us any less.

There's so much pain around us. Our lives are filled with it and NONE of us are exempt from it. Our experiences with pain are not the same, but we all have them. One thing is the same though... and that is that as Christians, we have hope. We have Someone Who will never let us down. When everything around us seems hopeless and dark, He is our Light. We can depend on Him and He will give us the strength, mercy and grace to face whatever is thrown our way. I believe that with my whole heart.

"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." - Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV)

Life isn't easy. For anyone. But as a child of God, I have EVERYTHING to be thankful for.
Today I am so thankful for a God who has never forsaken me and who never will.

~amw~