Sometimes, even when life is full of blessings, the
difficult parts threaten to overwhelm.
Worries and
fears crowd in, obscuring almost everything else. It happens to us all, Scripture reminds us,
and it
happened recently to a dear friend of mine. Plowing
through the tough times is hard work. It is often in those most difficult times
that God is most visibly at work. Sometimes
the work of God involves removing the source of fear and anxiety, and sometimes
God’s work is inside us, helping us walk through one more day in the valley.
These things were on my mind the other day when I came
across the following poem by Joyce Rupp. She manages to speak so much truth and
hope in these few sentences.
How I love it
when what I’ve
known
as a weed
in me
suddenly becomes
a beautiful flower.
How I delight
when the rejected
part
of me
becomes my friend.
How I cherish
the struggles
that change
my inner enemies
into my beloved
friends.
