Sometimes life doesn’t go the way we plan. Sometimes it sprouts wings and leaves us on the tarmac waving desperately.
The bad seasons can outlast the good ones. And the rainy days persist too long.
Irrespective of reality, I’m tempted to share only positive thoughts and brightly filtered photos.
Why? I’m not exactly sure. Maybe it’s a tendency to portray who I want to be, or the reality I hope for. Maybe it’s fear of imperfection or failure (okay yeah, maybe that one…).
I’m still processing the why, really. But one thing I have a handle on is the outcome: a loneliness that robs joy.
There is a very deep longing for others to know – to know me, to know us. The real, broken, confused, and unfiltered. Joyful feelings found in a shell of who we are seem fleeting.
So friends, if you are in a rough season, take heart. Take heart in not being okay. Let’s sit together in the unfiltered.
“Abide with Me” (love the Sarah Groves version) – thinking of framing the whole song and putting it on every wall.
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
There’s something comforting about the word “Abide.” Stand by/hold to/accept. It’s not very active, it just is. A simple act of “being with.”
Sometimes solutions are not readily available. Paths forward are not visible. There’s not always a filter strong enough to brighten darkness. So Lord, when comforts flee, abide with me. Sit with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
Whether you have clouds or sunshine, may the Lord abide with you. If He made the rain, then why should we feel shame or fear in asking for an umbrella? And I’m here, if you just want to sit in the rain.
nolkins 