A Breath of Air

In the Midst of Affliction

Too often I sadly wonder why
Adversity lies in my path.
What did I do to anger God, who
Seems to pour upon me his wrath?

I thought that He would surely see
My pain, suffer it to be mild.
But though I cry and ask Him, “Why?”
He just whispers, “Oh, my child.”

“Be not afraid; the path that is laid
Before thee is never too hard.
Through this you’ll grow and then you’ll know
That you are constantly under my guard.”

Of course I knew that Christ has suffered through
All the hardships I ever could face.
And I am saved from an eternal grave
Only by His mercy and grace.

You see, a price was paid; a sacrifice made,
For us by Christ our brother.
For only He, the Savior, could be
The lamb at the altar – none other.

He journeyed well to the depths of Hell
And then he rose above us
Ascended then to our Father in Heav’n
Why? Because he loves us.

So all the trials and the long miles
Of hardship are for our good.
And although now, we cannot see how,
We trust Him as we know that we should.

He says, “Little One, this is my Son”
And He brings me into His fold.
In response to my cries, He simply replies,
“Peace be unto thy soul.”



Truly, God is Good.

My profound thought for the day. I don't have many of those, but every now and again... :)

God really is amazing, you know? He knows and loves each of us personally - better than even we do - and is always there when we need Him the most. He never said life would be easy. He demands faith and sacrifice from us - often letting us walk until we are so exhasuted we cannot walk anymore and collapse gasping and wheezing onto the ground, turning to Him in humble supplication. Only then does He pick us up and carry us for a while, giving us a breath of air before returning us to our rightful place walking next to Him. I'm amazed again and again by the Lord's love for and patience with me - even when I'm at my lowest and most faithless, in the midst of doubt and despair, He is there to comfort me and be my strength.

Today was Monday, the first day of the new semester, and I've ended it feeling better than when I started off. I wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing what the first day of school held; I would rather have crawled into a corner and hid, but as I knew that doing so wouldn't be a good way to start off the semester, I walked to school with a smile on my face and a laugh in my voice. Quite honestly, despite what I might say when asked, my Christmas vacation was anything but good. It wasn't restful or relaxing; rather, it was emotionally charged and strenuous almost beyond sufferance. But I survived. I always do. I was, however, wondering how I was going to make it through the next semester. I wrote previously of a state of zen, of numb calmness that helps me keep going through it all. I, unfortunately, wasn't quite there again - I was still just barely on this side of it, the side where I still felt emotion - and anything might throw me into a panic. I spent the whole of my church meetings on Sunday feeling like I was going to vomit, and it was all I could do the rest of the day to calmly say hello to friends as they came home from the holidays. I just wanted to run away - to my room or down the street or wherever I needed to go to be far away from people. But I didn't. I greeted my friends, smiled and hugged them, queried about their vacations, and answered general questions about my own. By the end of the day I was physically sick from the sheer effort - and although I finally lay down on the couch and turned off the light at around 4:30, I didn't once fall asleep.

The Lord knows what He's doing. He knows me better than I know myself, and realizes when I've reached my limit. He pays attention to my needs. He wants me to be happy. I could feel His presence and His strength with me all day - today was a day I was carried. Although I realize that the semester is going to be insanely busy, I'm excited about every single one of my courses. I was able to add the classes to my schedule that I wanted to, the subjects are all fascinating, and my professors are wonderful. I spent the day thrilled to be back in school and back at work, and feeling generally great about the months to come. I needed a day like this. The rest of the week might be stressful, might be crazy, and might be overwhelming, but I can face it now. I've had my breath of air.