The road

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It is a familiar path. It is the path I take daily. The path of life. I know what I have to face, and I tend to wake with a groan, but I manage to put one foot on the floor, and the other soon follows. My motivation to move forward is not from any strength of my own; it is God's. I am certain that without my faith, I would be struggling just to open my eyes to face the morning each day. I know there are people in my own community, people I work with side by side each day who are in this boat. Their only motivation is a paycheck, and what lies beyond the work day. Get me through the next 8 hours, and I can begin to enjoy some part of my day. Get me through the week to Friday, and I'll have the weekend to enjoy. Oh, but then I have to face Monday again. How many of us, even as Christians, get stuck in a little bit of this cycle? I admit, I could easily get stuck in it. Some days I do feel like I am stuck in it, and I would rather crawl under my blanket and huddle in the coziness of the darkness, the quiet, than to make the effort to move forward. I have for years struggled in and out of periods of depression, and I am convinced I have seasonal depression like clockwork right after the holidays. I find myself simply longing for more time to sleep, to stay hidden in the darkness and not have to face the world for several months. I find myself wondering what it must be like for a bear in hibernation. At some point I snap myself out of it, realizing honestly, I would go stir crazy being couped up in a cave for very long. I would miss my family, my sweet church family and the joys that life can bring. Yes, as difficult and long as the days of this life may be, there are moments that can bring pure joy if we make the effort. I have learned as my life has shifted, to go with the flow. It is not easy, change. I don't like it, especially when it starts with a difficult circumstance. If we will open our hearts to it, God will use every circumstance for good. That thinking is what helps me put one foot in front of the other each day. As difficult as it may be to get going, I find the strength in my God, and the hope He gives me that He has something wonderful planned for me today. So, I will face each day with hope, with the desire to be who God wants me to be. Every day I pray Jeremiah 29:11, it is one of my life verses. I cannot move forward without it because it reminds me that God has a purpose and plan for me, and it is to prosper me, not harm me. He has something good for me today. I am thankful for that and I count on that. It is what keeps me going on the road ahead.

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