PAIRINGS - Certainties in an Uncertain World

I got a message from a friend this morning that she'd sent in the night. My heart broke as I read her words. Did I miss seeing signs that this was happening in her life? Aside from prayer, what can I do for her all these miles away. I wrote back and sent her my love, my prayers and a number where she could reach me. I thought, "What can I do to really help!?!?!"

I sent a second note...

I am so sorry if I missed the signs of this... I'm praying earnestly for you now though!!! Words are cold & hollow in times like these. But, I am praying that you will find peace, comfort, safety & strength in the only LIVING WORD!!

I looked back upon the darkest times in my life and remembered the nights when God's Word brought comfort and the name of JESUS was all I could cry out when my heart was speechless.

For my friend... for all of us... as we fight the battle each day...

Who really wants to hear the words, "Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows"? But, what a wonderful reminder of the future... in the words of Jesus, "Take heart, I have overcome this world."

So often there's nothing we can do to change things in this world. In those times, we must hold tightly to the certainty of the world to come!

Be encouraged friends! God completes what He starts!!

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

That SATURDAY Feeling!

I've been thinking a lot about SATURDAY this week... it seems to get over-looked in the story of Easter. And, many people in this world are living in the "Saturday" right now -- feeling as though the "Saturday" will never end. There are so many things which plague us in this fallen world:

• grief
• shame
• poverty
• guilt
• loneliness
• insecurity
• despair
• pain (physical, emotional, etc.)
• human trafficking
• sorrow
• depression
• persecution
• loss

Many know that Sunday is coming... but aren't feeling it at all! Seasons of brokenness can feel overwhelming & without end. Times of hopelessness can nearly consume us. Grief & pain can break us down, robbing us of the strength we need for even the simplest things in life. Many things can make us afraid to take chances again or take another path. And, it's easy to allow our poor choices or weaknesses to cause us to begin believing we don't even deserve a better life. Often we can become so weary from the battle that we want to throw in the towel... and just give up. We want to cry out "it is finished" without a glimmer of hope.

I can't imagine how the SATURDAY after Christ's crucifixion must have felt to so many. It had to be a day of much anguish... questioning... fear. I wonder about those who'd stood by the side of Jesus as he spoke the words to bring Lazarus back to life... to bring the daughter of Jairus back to life. I wonder if those people even considered the possibility that their Lord could also come back to life? Or were they overwhelmed with the knowledge of what was at that very moment. There was a separation on that day. And, that separation was horrible. 

I was able to capture this photo during the Good Friday service at
my church which was lead by Alanna Story.
What a blessing that service was!!

YES... I've been thinking a lot about SATURDAY this week... and about how so many people in this world are living in the "Saturday" right now. May our hearts be moved to walk alongside those who are going through that "Saturday" feeling.

"They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip and kill him, but after 3 days he will rise again." Mark 10:34

#JoyDare No. 2497. reflecting on SATURDAY