It breaks my heart to realize how much hurting there is all around me. And sadly, I feel like as I've grown up my eyes have been opened to the reality that pain is so prevalent and life takes so many turns that can be incredibly challenging.
These past few months have been rough.
I've had friends experience sorrowful situations with their parents. The sudden loss a father. The unnerving news of cancer. The heartbreaking surprise of divorce.
I've listened to my 8th grade girls, whom I love so much, tell stories about all the chaos that they're experiencing in Jr. High and it blows my mind.
In meeting new friends at college, I've come to be reminded of all the struggles in life that make us who we are. In sharing stories with one another, tons of old memories have resurfaced for many of us, some that aren't too exciting to remember.
I felt like writing this because in talking to my friend Jade tonight, I just expressed that I don't know what I would do with the weight of the world if I didn't have a relationship with God. To have a God that invites us to put our fears, broken hearts, anxieties, inadequacies, and confusion in His hands is so amazing to me. It brings me to tears when I really take the time to process through the beauty of who He is and what He offers to those who believe in Him.
I've watched too many people give up.
And I know what it's like to want to.
But as much I've seen people give up, I've also seen the beauty in holding on.
God has a way of turning even the most horrible of circumstances into something beautiful. I see the purpose of this being that God wants to reveal Himself to us. And the funny thing is despite the fact that so often the way that God works goes unnoticed by us, He still finds pleasure in making things beautiful. In giving hope. In causing restoration. In loving us.
I pray that we will share in each others' sufferings and not let people go through the hardships of life alone.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
//// Isaiah 40: 28-31
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
//// Philippians 4:6-7
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
//// Romans 15:13
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
//// Hebrews 4:14-16
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
