The Lord Holds Me Together...

The Lord Holds Me Together...

I was at breakfast with a dear friend this morning and prior to our meal she prayed on my behalf and for the blessing of the food we were about to eat. In her prayer she sought the Lord's favor and sustaining grace by asking Him to continue to hold me together.
Those words, 'hold me together' affected my heart in a special way due to recent events in my life that have greatly impacted my heart and mind.

You see, I have been blessed with two children and two children are all I have. No more. No less. One of those two -my first born- and only daughter, was almost lost to me in the late spring of this year and yet the Lord sovereignly chose to spare her life for His own purpose and good pleasure.

M second born -and only son- has decided to join the military. Not the Army, Air Force or Navy, but the Marine Corp. I can't begin to tell you in words how difficult it is to wrap my mind around that fact. I feel like my heart is being ripped out and scattered into the wind.

That is why my friends' spoken prayer was so sweet to me. God knows how fragmented and scattered I am feeling in most hours of every day that passes. With all my might I fight it and I am mostly losing. Were it not for Him, my LORD, my God, holding me together I would literally come undone.

With a new perspective now, I am capable of understanding why we go fetal in times of sadness and distress. It's as if the very act of curling up and going inward somehow enables us to feel safe, telling ourselves, "If I can just hold on, if I can roll up inside and push all the yuck out, I can make it through the next minute, hour, day until the better that is on the other side."

Dear ones, what can I say to encourage your hearts today? I only have one message and one hope. There is only One True Thing that sustains us and keeps us. It is Him, the One, the Only, Son of God and Son of Man JESUS. His breath, His sustenance -the blood- allows us to hope above and beyond any thinkable, doable hoping of our own and grab the hand of Hope Himself.

So, if you are in the middle of your own curling up and inward, I beg you to change positions. You can roll over on your back and stretch your arms out and upward to Abba Father, asking Him to hold you. Remember when you were a child and you had a booboo? All you wanted was to get to the place of comfort - Mommy or Daddy- and be safe in their strong comforting arms.

May it be so for you today; and if you can't manage to fully turn over, then release an arm and reach toward heaven, toward Father; who is well acquainted with your grief and your sorrow. Give Him your aching, breaking heart. Trust Him to mend and restore all the broken pieces, piece by delicate piece, one moment at a time.

Remember, He, the Lord, is your Shepherd; He makes a place for you to lie down, He leads you beside the still waters; though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with you. (Psalms 23)

Look back in time and see the Hand of the Lord upholding you and praise Him because of Who He Is.
Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You. Your right hand upholds me.
-- Psalms 63:7-9

Dear ones gather yourselves and stand firm. Be assured that He -the Mighty One of Israel- is holding you together.

Stephanie