Never Lose Heart

Sometimes life deals us a disappointment. Some are minor; others are so bad that we almost want to die. The one I was dealt today falls somewhere in between. Out of the blue it came – changing my day from one that was supposed to have been very happy to one of the worst days of my life. One thing went wrong causing an avalanche of other mishaps and my emotions plummeted from the highest peak to the deepest pit in short order! I wondered for a while if I would find my way back. But thanks to my faith in God and His mercy, I know I will.

Some people seem to have no trouble dealing with unpleasant things and putting them behind them right away. I’m not one of those; I’m a wallower. After sufficient wallowing time, I can usually let things go... or at least, accept them and go on. My daughter says, “If it bothers you, don’t think about it!” And she doesn’t. Everything goes “on the back burner.” What worries me about that is that one day; all of the stuff on the back burner will come rushing to the front at once. Then what?

My son has a nice theory, too. He says, “Don’t worry about anything. It’s not worth it. You can’t do anything about most things anyway so just go on with your life and things will take care of themselves!” And then, there’s my husband – who never worried a day in his life! His little nugget of wisdom goes like this, “Why should I worry? You worry enough for both of us.” Sure wish I could follow any or all of these examples. I try but it’s just not in me. I suffer a lot more, of course, but, unfortunately, we are what we are. We can’t change just because someone tells us to.

So tonight, after wallowing all day, I picked up a little purple book by Frances J. Roberts that was a gift from my husband. It has 365 one-minute meditations in it. I read it every day, usually in the morning, but today was different. Perhaps it was meant to be that way because I needed the advice more tonight. The meditation for today reads as follows:

“Never lose heart when confronted by disappointment. Remember always that I control all that touches you, and as I move to order your life, I not only open the right doors, but close the wrong ones. Whenever a wrong door is closed, it is by My hand as much as when the right one opens. In this way, I not only bring you joy but spare you pain. Trust Me. Have I not said that nothing shall harm you?”  Inspired by Luke 10:19.