March 12, 2025
How do I keep going on?
I remember a time (several, actually) when I was sure the only option was death. My own death. Everything was out of control; I couldn’t possibly go on. The thought of more hours, days, months, and years filled with endless heartache seemed impossible. One friend said something to me that I am sure she thought was so simple and maybe even obvious. “Just take the next right step.”
That is what I needed to hear. I didn’t need to focus on the endless. I needed to focus on just one step! Looking at the future, even the near future, was enough to derail me… but only taking one small step seemed possible in my impossible world. So, reader, tell yourself first to just focus on your next small, simple, single step. Just do one step at a time. Repeat this to yourself over and over: “Just take the next right step.” Maybe it is just to get up and get dressed. But whatever it is, focus on one step at a time, friend. No need to take on the world!
“Just take the next right step.”
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Strands of Hope
Strands of Hope
I am not the girl I used to be.
Pain derailed my dreams, like a ravenous wolf.
For a time, it seemed to crush me,
It even threatened to erase me.
But then I looked up and understood.
I wasn’t meant to bear this alone.
So, I gave my hurt and fear to God.
With love, He took it and let me rest.
His hands knew my pain all too well
As He bent over and began to untangle the mess.
He took all I thought was ugly and repulsive
and began to weave something beautiful from it.
At last, He held up a beautiful gown!
Shimmering with glittering tears.
Grafted with strands of velvety heartbreak.
I didn’t know pain could be so beautiful!
The gown felt light and flowed around me.
Its fibers were intertwined with His love.
I raised my face and looked into the mirror I’d grown to hate.
For once, I wasn’t ashamed of its reflection.
I will never be that girl I was before.
I know now, I don’t want to be.
I finally learned that I need God for life.
Only He can twist my sorrow into strands of hope!
Make me to understand. 