My Heart

It's been a long week.

It's been a hard week.

My heart has been heavy most of the days.

Tears have been shed many of them. 

Some tears are for my own issues.

And some are on behalf of others.

But it's been a lot of tears.

A LOT.

More tears than probably have been shed in years.

There is so much brokenness. Too much. 

I don't know what lies below the dumps, but whatever it is, that's where I have been hanging out all week. 

I am tired.

I've lost some of my spirit these past few days.

My spunk went M.I.A.

Cheeriness out the window.

Melancholy is a heavy thing to carry on your shoulders.

It isn't fun. 

But, I know it's also part of life.

And that God is GOOD.

That he is ALWAYS working.

So, while I fight, and war against sadness, against self-pity, against despair, I am comforted by friends who bear my burdens with me. 

And even more so, I'm grateful for a God who is by my side fighting with me, fighting for me.

That HE is the one carrying those burdens. And that I don't have to.

I have spent a lot of time in His Word this week. 

The Psalms comfort me.

And the Big 4 (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians) encourage me.

My spirit has been hungry.

And the Word is the only thing that nourishes it.

So bear with me a little while longer, and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program very shortly.

In the mean time, if you need some comfort or encouragement, here is where I have been finding it this week. 

   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
        the LORD answered me and set me free.
    The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
        What can man do to me?
    The LORD is on my side as my helper;
        I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
(Psalm 118:5-7 ESV)


    For God alone my soul waits in silence;
        from him comes my salvation.
    He alone is my rock and my salvation,
        my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
(Psalm 62:1-2 ESV)

    Trust in him at all times, O people;
        pour out your heart before him;
        God is a refuge for us. Selah
(Psalm 62:8 ESV)

    The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
        and saves the crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18 ESV)

    Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
(Galatians 6:2 ESV)

    Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
(Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

    Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
   I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13; Philippians 3:14 ESV)

    Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
(Colossians 3:12-15 ESV)