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When Adversity Strikes: Can We Face It With Courage?
Unannounced. Adversity strikes! Red-hot. Searing. An unwelcome arrival that feels totally unbelievable. Did I hear someone say “ludicrous”? Yes! Crazy, unbelievable, even bizarre. Sucker punched, I find myself gasping at its reality. Could this really be happening to us? Certain as dawn, it settles in, burning all the way down to the depths of my soul. Air! We need air! As our world tilts, then crumbles around us, nothing seems as it was. Crushed beneath the load, we look for normalcy, but it evades us. It’s just not there – no longer present. Everything in me cries out “This is wrong…so very wrong!” right on the heels of shouting… “This…
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Messy Grief and Unrestrained Sorrow…An invitation to come where the Divine dwells
In the quiet sanctuary, the holy place where the Divine dwells, we find rest for our troubled souls. Here we sit, too broken to stand. Here we stretch out prostrate at His feet. Weary of heart. Weary of mind. Just plain weary! Here we cry out. Our voice cannot form words. Here we pour out our lament. I lay my messy grief and unrestrained sorrow at His feet. He does not flinch at my uncouth offering. He does not pull away from the mess of my heart. Here, in the presence of Christ, I am seen. Here, in this holy sanctuary, I am heard. My heart is so full of…
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Living Fully Present: Hope in Uncertainty When was the last time God led you into a waiting room? A waiting room without physical walls—a place where adversity and faith meet. Here, you are given the chance to embrace God’s character, yet somehow anxiety and overwhelm flood in, and all you can think about is solving your problem to ease the pain, remove the heartache, or erase the trouble. I am familiar with God’s waiting rooms, as I am sure you are. It has taken me years to realize that when God calls us to enter, He is extending a sacred invitation to spend time with the Divine. It is here…
