That one day, he just threw his hands up and said, "okay, it's all yours now."
Like it all depends on me to figure out this thing called life.
Thankfully, that is not the case at all.
I've begun to learn that the times I feel alone and forgotten are the very same times that God is doing something in my heart like none other. My moments {or hours} of discouragement and loneliness are being used to draw me ever closer to the heart of my Savior.
It's cliche, but there is a well-known poem that talks of a man who had a dream that he was walking along a beach with the Lord. He noticed that at certain points throughout his life, specifically the difficult times, there were only one set of footprints, not two. The man is confused and asks the Lord why there was only one set of footprints when He had promised the man that He would never leave him. Like a gracious, ever-loving Father, the Lord replies:
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you."What a sweet reminder to know that we truly never walk alone.
I remember this past fall, when I went through some of the most difficult moments, and I felt completely alone and defeated. Often I would go to bed at night crying out to the Lord for something - anything - to remind me that I had someone walking beside me.
Looking back, I've realized that I grew a drastic amount through those times of deep loneliness.
I've always been a people-pleaser... Always trying to make sure I wasn't "too much" or "not enough." And although I am still not completely cured of that awful disease of desperately seeking to please others, God has grown my heart in ways I never thought possible.
I've walked through those lonely seasons, and praise God that I no longer have to fear them, because I know that He is so steadfast and unchanging. I can trust that he will hold me close and walk through those moments with me.
You're never alone
Like a tear in the ocean
Or a star on a clear winter night
You're never alone
When the courage you needed
Has been all but defeated in you
When you can't seem to find your way home
And when life gets too hard
To face on your own
I will stand as a light through your darkest unknown
I will walk with you
So you're never alone
