My children don't worry take my hand

I'm taking you down this road you don't understand… yet

There may be tears while your waiting for these answers

You only see the picture I can see the future

"The May Be Tears" - Scott Cunningham Band

There is no way to know what your future holds, but with a little faith and belief that God has it all in

HIs hands, you can be sure - very sure - that “it will be alright”!

Many times the things we are confident are steady, secure, and built to last crumble before our very eyes.

That plan you made for yourself 5 years ago,  crumbles away to nothing and you find yourself in a very different place than you

ever imagined. That friendship which you valued and felt would always be there fades away. That job which seemed so

steady becomes uncertain and unpredictable. The plan you had for your life seems to be the very opposite of what you had envisioned. You feel despair creep up, ready to smother you with fear and doubt. “God my life is impossible! I cannot make sense of it”, you cry out. 

But the Lover of your soul whispers, “My child, I know your future, I see the big picture, I know what’s best. Don’t let yourself become so enwrapped with your idea of your life and its direction that you cannot see the grand story. It  is so much bigger than the small picture you see. ” Think of it this way: God can see your whole story, the whole intertwined tale of your life - while you can only see the tunnel vision which is one part, of one aspect, of one tiny sliver of your life.

My friend, one lesson we must learn in this life is this: You don’t know your future and you cannot play king or queen of your destiny. Sometimes things go out of our control and we must accept that the bigger picture is worth all the pain.

God sees the big scheme of things. He takes you down paths that you don’t understand. The impossibilities with man become great opportunities. The seeming failures become His canvas for a bright future. There may be tears, there may be heartbreak, but God has your life in His hands and before you were even born He had a perfect plan for it.

It’s going to be alright! Have faith! Just take the Lord’s hand and walk with Him one step at a time, letting Him lead.

One day, if it be in this world or the next, we will understand why the pain, the heartbreak, the change, the direction of our life went the way it did. 

I like to think that we are not just separate individuals in this world. We are individuals connected and interconnected with all those around us, those people connected to those around us, and beyond. It’s a tapestry woven by God’s own hand of connections, opportunities, and miracles. The hardship that you are going through may be what it takes for one of your connections to be inspired by your faith-walk and come to the knowledge of God.  The joy that you just experienced may be a testimony of God’s great faithfulness and that neighbour you just shared with will ultimately change the course of his life just because of it.

My friend, in all of this, one thing is very certain. By faith and believing in God it will all work out; one way or another. We may not see it now, we may not understand, we may not feel joy at first, but I can tell you that God KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING!

And the most impossible dream is a possibility with God!

So don’t be afraid to dream,  don’t be afraid to hope, but put every one of those hopes and dreams in the hands of the Maker of Heaven and earth. And then your future will be secure and your questions will all be answered in time.

For now, enjoy. believe. rest. Be held in the Almighty Arms. You are safe, very safe, in those Hands of grace and love.

Each of us has a Jericho. Each of us has a Goliath. Each of us comes to the walls, look up and cringe at the heights. We see the giant of a trial and our hearts shudder.  

Yet, something becomes apparent very quickly. We either go forward or fall back. We either shrug off our fears or let them overtake us. 

Do we want to take the wide path, the way paved with deceptive ease? Or do we say “NO!” And overcome through Gods grace with a “I WILL FIGHT, LORD”

Living safe does not mean living stronger. Sometimes turning our back on comfort and striking out on the conquerors path means letting go of our fears and just going forward in faith. 

Fear will cling to you and eat away at your very soul. It holds your heart captive, robbing you of joy, but letting God’s love in will let you truly live free again. 

You will be stronger with God’s love. Braver. Free. The one conquered by fear will be victor through Christ Jesus our Lord.

No longer afraid. ashamed. a slave to fear. 

First say, NO LONGER. I don’t want to live half alive. I don’t want to live frightened. I want to have my heart on fire for God and want to bless others freely and selflessly. 

Remember who you are. As you look up at the stars, remember you are a child of the Almighty GOD. You are precious, desired, wanted by the Lover of your soul.

So rest in that and boldly go forward. Each day a step forward, each moment a conquering of your fears and realization of God’ will. Knowing that the bonds which held you are broken and you are free - truly and wholly free.

If I could sum up the feelings that swirled through my soul, heart, and mind during that difficult time, that prayer was mine.

Joy was gone. The carefree childhood was wiped away and in its place was fear, darkness, and pain.

I could hardly bare to go about my day and each one was a struggle. I did not know God’s plan but I knew He knew what He was doing it. I just couldn’t tell where the darkness ended and the light began.

I feel that my story can be a testimony of hope. A story of God’s faithfulness. I’ve seen the pain that mental illness causes and yet I have seen the joy in bringing it to my Saviour and watching him heal the pain, feelings of failure, and discouragement.

If you would have met me as a child, you would have seen a joyful, bubbly, carefree girl. Ready to be in centre-stage every moment of every day. Ready to tackle anything with a willingness and enthusiasm.

Fast forward to my teen years: a high achiever, involved in every kind of community project and endeavor. Joyful. Carefree.

Raised in a home that strived to honor God as a family, I was passionate about my faith. I was encouraged in finding answers on my own, learning my faith for myself, and not just talking the talk but walking the walk.

True, I was confident, sure, and solid. Or so I thought. Everything seemed perfect. What could go wrong?

The Lord knew that something loomed on the horizon. He knew the story of every one of my tears and what I would go through, although I was oblivious to it all. And when it came, my world seemed to come crashing down.

The silent illness. Yes, it is sometimes not talked about. Sometimes shadowed in mystery and the unknown.

Mental Illness is something that no one fully understands until they’ve gone through its turns and twists and come out on the other side.

Confusion. That was what I felt at first. Simple tasks that I could do before I could not do now. 

I felt on fire and chilled all at the same time. A deep sadness and weight seemed settled on my soul and I could not shake it. It seemed to pull me down and take away every ounce of strength I had. The tears flowed - for days. 

The bright, happy young woman was gone and instead, there was a broken soul reaching out for help.

My parents and friends lifted me in prayer and Christian professionals came to my aid.

I was facing a struggle. I could not see the light, but yet, I knew it must be there.

Groping for hope, for meaning, and for peace, I did not know what to do.

In that darkness, a ray of hope came. A verse came to my mind. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

I had been in bed when the two-foot poster at the foot of my bed spoke to me. It depicted a girl planting a small plant, and with it was the verse.

I repeated this passage over and over again to myself. It was my lifeline. I did not know what the future held. But if I had faith that God had a plan for my life, even if I could not see it now, then I had true faith. Though I did not understand His plan at this point, I knew He was infinite and His plan was higher than me.

That’s when I realized something. My life, everything I was holding onto before, my confidence - all of it - was held by the infinite God and He was the great healer of my soul! It was nothing to hold onto this. Because I was not in control. He was. And He loved me in spite of my inability to do anything on my own.

Only when I was in my darkest hour (at the time) did I find a love, far deeper, far greater than I could imagine. More Bible verses of promise would flash to my mind and I would repeat them. They kept me going, got me through that dark tunnel of the unknown.

If you ever experience this deep, dark place when all hope seems lost and you feel forsaken, know that 

Jesus is very faithful. There IS HOPE in the darkness.

He will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5b), He will cause your sorrow to be turned to joy (John 16:20), and even if you don’t understand God has a plan for your life like no other - He will not disappoint.

For me, I found that through this experience, I learned that I cannot do anything on my own and my life is not mine - it is Christ’s.

What I do is not me doing it, but Christ doing it through me. His love must shine forth. His goodness must be shown. His holiness must be mirrored. 

What can I say about trials? Is it not through hard times that we learn the best lessons of our lives? Are they not refining our character for good, just like gold is refined many times to become pure and reflect the light? They may be hard to bear, but we know that God gives us all the strength to

overcome (2 Corinthians 12:9) My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

In my story, my family and I were able to show something of God’s love to the many doctors and councellors that I saw during this time. They saw a family that wanted to serve God, parents that loved their children, and God’s hand working in their lives. 

My utter weakness turned out to be the time God could work the most - give me the strength to overcome, and show HIS LOVE.

It truly was a blessing in disguise which I never would have seen then. For, I would not be where I am, doing what I’m doing today if it were not for this hard time in my life. It changed the direction in my life, and I’m grateful for this.

It gave me an empathy for others, that wasn’t quite there the same way before.

Through my experience, I pray that I will have the opportunity to breathe into someone else’s hopelessness the love and wonderful faithfulness of Christ. 

The hope that no matter what we go through here on earth, no matter what we don’t understand, no matter how helpless we feel at times, God’s love is always there and He uses these circumstances for our GOOD! Even if we never understand the good on this earth.

If you are going through something similar,  find comfort in the fact that as you go through the steps you need to get well, God is by your side.

His love is engulfing you, and he wraps His infinite wings of grace about you.

Have hope, you are never alone and God will never forsake you. You can be sure. Very sure of that. 

Because through our broken hallelujahs our greatest triumphs are made!

Sometimes we lose sight of the true meaning of laying our helpless, hopeless plans in the hands of the Infinite. We forget that Jesus is the way, truth, and life. 

He is the reader of our dreams, the secret observer of our heart yearnings, the quiet listener when we whisper our deepest desires and hopes, the one that lends a sympathetic ear to our anguished filled prayers. 

We forget that He is the light on our path, guiding, leading, gently orchestrating our life.

When you do not know your next step, When the next minute, hour, day, week, month, and year in the future is unknown - just remember that it does not matter if we do not know.

If Jesus is the one leading you, your future is sure. He will be by your side, and that is a certainty you can rest in.

When you cry out to Him, He's there. When your anguished heart reaches for hope, He touches your soul through circumstances, others on your life journey, and everyday miracles. When you seek guidance, He will provide it. 

Just listen. Many times we cannot hear because we refuse to listen. 

When your dreams are bigger than so-called reality? Just place them completely in the hands of the good shepherd. He will lead your heart and open doors that you imagined were bolted and locked. 

He sees the fallen tear. He has a book of remembrance for each tear that falls.

He knows your deepest longings. A prayer for a loved one who has gone from the truth, a prayer of deliverance from a sin, a deep heart desire for a closer walk with Him - He hears it all.

Zacharius in the New Testament prayed for a child for years, and only when he was aged in years did that prayer become reality. Yet, the prayers of the years of waiting had been heard and in the right time and right place they were fulfilled.

God hears every one of your prayers, if they are done in sincerity and truth. You may be left with what seems to be a waiting time, but fear not if it is God's will in the right moment at the right time it WILL happen. And no power on earth can stop that prayer from being answered when that time comes. 

So have hope. There is a listener to every one of your expressed heart desires. And He just wants you to take it all to Him. Don't hide. He sees what is in your heart before you say it. Lay it all bare. 

Open your heart. And let the peace in knowing that God is in control and knows your future wash over you.

Rest in that. Rest in Christ's love and be blessed beyond measure by it.