When you’re going “through,” what to do

Trials and hardships and fire come to test us. And weren’t many of us walking like that? A classmate, now widowed. A friend, divorce looming. Someone else, single parenting. And the daughter of a friend now in hospice. All facing the fire and the flood.

Going through.

Ah, how many, many folks that I saw here, met there, were carrying a heavy load? The souls that came rushing right past my table in that place where community gathered. How much hurt; how much ache hid behind smiles near-cracking on faces arranged like a mask?  It was easy to judge, to look at the outward where pain was disguised with a grin. That was easy.

A story. A journey. Everyone had one, and God alone knew every step. He knew every stone. Every chapter and verse, He knew, He who always sees rightly.

Going through. Paths and rough trails that wandered, meandered ‘tween mountains, over rocks that cut sharp. The difficult stretches where human feet failed, hearts faltered in fear, and night fell. Where eyes sought, longing, yearning for light.

And then the whisper, “Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

‘Way.’ In the Hebrew, this meant a path, or a road. And the Shepherd, gentle guide and companion, is speaking. “Commit your way; your path; your long, rocky road. The way through; commit that, too.”

I’m thinking of you today, dear one, on your road. Your long, painful path; this hard thing. He’s bringing you THROUGH, for that’s what shepherds do. They bring their sheep through the hard places.

There’s coming a pasture with refreshment and rest, with water and green grass and sweet comfort. Meanwhile, keep walking. Keep following. Keep trusting. And commit–now–where you’re at, your path. Then rejoice, little sheep, for the “through.”

Warmly this day,

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