He lifted me up

“I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came, and in His mercy lifted me up, and verily raised me aloft and placed me on the top of the wall.”  St. Patrick

At the most unexpected times, God lifts me up. He knows when I am stuck, even when I cannot verbalize my feelings and thoughts. He waits patiently. When I am frustrated, He sends His calming peace. When I am worn out, He restores me. When life shatters me and leaves me broken, He mends me. He mends me in His time, not mine. He builds new bridges around those broken paths. He does not try to convince me the broken paths are not really broken. He shines His light on new paths. New paths always await us. Just look for them.

Pretty soon, He sets me on the high places. Fear and brokenness cannot truly overtake us. Yes, those heartbreaking times in our lives take their toll. They do. There is no denying it. But guess what? Jesus gives us strength to ride on past it. We can hop on our bicycles, determinedly pedal straight uphill into a headwind.

Go the distance. Celebrate your efforts.

The struggle may seem impossible. How long can you hang onto the heartache and brokenness when you are faced with new challenges?  Of course! The new challenges refocus us. If we are suddenly busier than we have been in ages, perhaps the challenge of handling that new load will fill our thoughts for awhile. There are new threads of hope and challenge. When the SON-light hits those threads ~ oh how they glow and glimmer! What will you and the Shepherd do for your life’s tapestry today and this week?