The Journey

Photo by Kristopher Roller Over the past several years, I have had a series of circumstances that kept me in a seemingly never-ending funnel of turmoil.  Divorce, illness, long seasons of mediocre jobs, and unemployment and single parenting came together in a whirlwind of chaos and destruction. My days have been filled with putting out fires, but never gaining any real ground. My daily mantra has been,  If I can get through one more day, take one more step, pay one more payment, work one more hour, we will be okay.  Survival mode. Over the past few months, I have had an idea formulating in my spirit that will quite possibly set my little family on the path from a place of merely surviving to a thriving existence. Early one morning, I was mentally rehearsing the bullet points of my plan and prayerfully explaining why these changes will work, why they are necessary, and why they need to happen now when a little nugget was dropped into my spirit. The church has been ...

Photo by Nik Shuliahin Overwhelmed is the best word I can think of to describe how I felt yesterday morning. I awoke hopeful but before 9:00 a.m. I found myself in an absolute state of despair which manifested itself physically. Anguish so great my bones ached, and I could picture the elephant sitting on my chest. Extreme fatigue threatened to completely overtake me as though to wipe me off the planet permanently. A blanket of hopelessness draped itself around my shoulders and I nearly buckled under the weight of sheer helplessness. In the words of David, "Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me Lord, for my bones are in agony." Dragging myself to the shower so I could be somewhat presentable to pick up my girls from school, I stood under the hot water letting it warm my chilled bones. As I set about the task at hand, a song rose from my belly. A song I did not feel like singing, a tune I could barely carry, a melody forced its way to my lips and I began to sing lo...