It’s 2 am, and I’m thinking of and praying for so many family members and friends who are going through intense physical and emotional pain.
No one tells you when you’re young that the most difficult part of getting older isn’t your own limitations (like last night’s heartburn-inducing brisket), it’s seeing more and more of the people you love suffer and pass away.
Maybe they did tell us, but we couldn’t hear them as we rushed to experience life. But now there are days you want to hide, because you can’t process one more life event. So hide. Just don’t do it alone.
Take time to be with Jesus. I know hearing or reading that can seem so trite or esoteric. But it’s all I know. Yesterday I was in this same chair, talking with him about these things, and I physically felt a hand squeeze my shoulder. Not my imagination, not a muscle spasm, a warm hand expressing love and encouragement.
It’s happened once before. After my second chemo treatment, I was alone in my car, overwhelmed and afraid. I felt a kiss on my balding head, more real than the cancer I was fighting.
Please don’t give in. Don’t quit. Refuse to agree with hopelessness or fear. Thank Jesus for every good thing in your life, until joy renews your mind. Then let him speak to your heart, until pain no longer has power over it.
“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis” (Matthew 11:28, TPT).
Equip Your Spirit 