Storms of Life

Today started with a mix of sunshine and clouds.  It seems that the weather was not sure what it wanted to do.  When the sun appeared it was so bright that it was blinding.  I realized that it had been cloudy and raining so much the last several days that my eyes had not adjusted to the bright light when the sun peaked through. While inspecting the area around our house after all the rain that we have had, I noticed in looking down into my garden from the deck that part of the it had been washed away.  This will make replanting the garden three times this year.  Life seems to be filled with rain and sunshine though.  We start over when we face set backs and we go on from there.  Some of those hardships are not as easy to recover from than others though.  It takes all of our reserve to gather our strength and face another day and we find that over time we gradually get back on our feet again.  At other times, our faith is shaken and we are rocked to the core.  We find that this challenge we are facing is just too much.  We are devastated by what has just lambasted us and we see that our reserve is used up.  What can we do, how can we go on to just get through the day, much less tomorrow and the next.  How can we make it now? Where am to find the place that I can go that offers me strength to face all the other challenges that I will encounter, when I can't even get through the one that stairs me in eyes today?  
> God says that he can be our strength when we cannot go on.  In Exodus 15:2 it says, "The Lord is my strength and my song."  He not only tells us that we can have his strength, but he will also give us his joy as well.  In Psalms 46:1 it says that God is our refuge and our strength.  Here God is telling us again that he is not only our strength, but also our place to go when the storms of life are too much for us to bare.  I am reminded of the other day when Abby fell and scraped her leg.  Abby ran over to Anne and she cuddled Abby while she cried.  Abby first needed to be held and comforted in her pain.  Next, Anne took her and ministered to her injured knee. In watching what transpired here, I too noticed how God works in our lives if we allow him in.  He can comfort us and bandage our wounds if we invite him to be a part of where we are at.   
> Today some of us face overwhelming issues that can be seen as insurmountable, but I know that Jesus hears our prayers and he comforts us if we are willing to invite him to receive his love.  I am reminded of my cousin's aunt who had severe physical distress every day.  She had laid in her bed racked with pain that I can only have imagined what is was like.  My cousin told me that people would come to visit her and they would leave finding that she had ministered to their needs instead, and in turn left filled with peace and joy.  This wonderful lady knew Jesus and in her tremendous pain, she found peace and happiness that went beyond her suffering and reached out to others around her. Jesus was so much a part of her life that he allowed her to be a blessing to those outside of her world.  This wonderful lady exuded peace and joy that went beyond the confines of her wracked body.  I marveled at how God worked in her life.  She chose to not let her physical body limit her love for Jesus and how he wanted to use her.  
> God sometimes does not answer our prayers as we would like, but he does answer them in the way that is best for us, ways we might not understand, yet.  If we allow him to answer our pleas with his will being done, then one will find the peace and joy, just like my cousin's aunt had received.  
Matt 6:10 says, "Your will be done."  Perhaps the hardest thing we have to do at times is to let go, not give up, but let go into God's care and wait for Him to work in our lives by laying down our will before him. A song verse I had learned when I was a child in Sunday school has become my prayer so many times, "Lord I am weak, but you are strong," please be my strength today. Augie