There are times when I have felt completely overwhelmed by the many different directions of attention that life demands, and felt I was sinking. In those times, the simplest words meant so much to me: “You are going to be okay.”
The other night I went for a walk with my daughter. I love these moments with her! As we walked, we openly talked about the many difficult life situations we had been in recently. It seemed we had been pondering the same things that day, because when I told her that I don’t know how I survived it all, she said she felt the same way.
I drove 3.5 hours every Thursday to get to an elementary school by 8 a.m. Then I spent the next 7 hours teaching. Then I picked up my kids and drove another 3.5 hours back to St. George. I did this every week for 10 months. I had no idea of what my future held. I had no sense of stability. I was so scared.
My daughter made lots of dinners. She combed hair and dressed siblings. She packed lunches and drove kids to school. She had to pass on time with her friends and certain activities, and she had no idea what her future looked like. Life was uncertain and unstable, and I’m sure, she was so scared.
“But I was still happy through it all,” she told me. “I don’t know how I stayed happy through all of that.”
I knew exactly what she meant. I have no idea how I stayed happy either. No, that’s not true. I know exactly how I stayed happy through all of it. I know exactly how I survived, how we survived. When the weight of life presses down on you and feels unbearable, the Lord is there to help shoulder that weight. He doesn’t take it away, but He makes it bearable. Somehow His amazing love and oh so tender mercy allows us to know happiness even in devastating times. As I look back, I think He has been doing this for me in certain ways for over 20 years.
There is so much our Savior has done and continues to do for us that we can’t even see; we are so unaware of the all encompassing grandeur of His love, His grace and His mercy.
You are going to be okay.
Be Still My Soul.
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul:
Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Forever grateful for His love!
