You Are My God...

Pain.

It's everywhere, all around us. No one is immune to its wrath. Lately it's been on my mind. Pain, that is. The pain of this world. Just because I believe in the God that created this world doesn't mean that that pain is avoidable. I truly believe that God uses our pain and suffering as a way to draw us closer to Him, I just don't like it very much.

Whether it's physical like the pain that tears at my body every day......

or emotional, like the pain of a hurting marriage.....

or a baby lost whose mommy and daddy never got to meet their sweet face.....

or that of an orphan so far away that we'll probably never see them or have to hold their starving little body in our arms and feel how much they truly hurt.....

whatever kind of pain it is, there is a God who longs to hold us close through it all.

Have you ever felt so desperate that it took every bit of strength you had left to just breathe in and breathe out? I have.

Have you ever felt like you've cried out to God....begged him and gotten no response? I have.

Have you ever questioned God's plan for your life and wondered how "this" could possibly be what he wanted for you? I have.

In spite of all the pain this world can offer, it's so amazing to know without a doubt that there is a God who is mine. Sometimes it's easy to trust in Him and praise him through the pain, and other times it takes a conscious effort to raise "trembling hands" and ask him to help us trust in who He is.

I came across THIS SONG today and it just absolutely spoke to me. I turned it up loud, like um....very loud.....I just closed my eyes and let it wash over me. I hope you have 5 minutes today to just be still.....turn it up loud, close your eyes and just let the words speak to you. It's pretty sweet.......