Waking Up Me!

When the going gets tough, the platitudes and scriptures to pray get thrown at the ones sitting in the valley. I’m as guilty as anyone of responding in this manner. I want to provide Truth and assurance to those I love and care about when they’re struggling and this usually works for me. When I am in a good place, hearing these things correct my path and my focus. But when I am tired and weary of the length of the time in the valley, hearing, “but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5) may not bring the joy when the sun rises the next morning.   I was having one of those rough nights on Monday evening and my sweet friend who I reached out to in my time of need told me tomorrow is another day and we all fall off the emotional wagon , just get back on, continue to cope…this too shall pass. Uh, yeah. I’ll get right on that. Of course, I was not getting right on that. If I was, I could have told myself that. What I really wanted was to be heard and cared for in that moment...

In July 2014, MJ was heading to his first duty station overseas. I was trying to share with him how not to get "lost" and be left adrift in the world when you're in the midst of times and places you don't yet understand. I don't know if he ever read it or heard the depth of my heart in what I was sharing, but I share this message here because it's for any of us who need a place to start. A place to lean into. A place to begin. A place to seek and find. A place to ask and receive. A place where when we knock, a door will be opened to the heart of Jesus. As JM is on my heart and mind, I think of him and others who are new to seeking God in His Word and not just in prayer.  I was thinking about what to tell you to read in the Bible if you were wanting comfort. The Psalms are always a good place to start. I love the Gospel of John...you get hooked with the first verse. As some one who like the details, Luke might be a good one for you as he was a doctor and...