Thursday, October 6, 2016

Never Leave You

When I was a child, my father left my mom and abandoned his children, disappearing from our lives as if he no longer existed. My mom scraped by as a single mother, living with the pressure of never knowing if we would make it.

At an impressionable age, my father abandoning us sent a deep and painful message. His deliberate, permanent absence taught me “I am worthless”. Soon, my own peers treated me in a way that reinforced this message. A shy, timid, and sensitive child, I let anyone treat me in whatever way they wished, thinking I was worth nothing more. What began as a single event shaped future events in the way it had changed me.

The reality of endings and loss has had a continuing impact in my life. In them I continue to experience an empty sadness I cannot escape. An unwanted cloud descends. A sense that  good will come to an end, losing hold of them as the wind carries them away.

Loss, trials, and pain are common to each of us. They are a given in a broken world.  When Jesus stepped into my life and brought healing, I discovered something new and different than what the world taught me. God, who is a Father to the fatherless and a friend to the friendless, brought beautiful mercy. In the lonely, dark valleys of the mental and emotional illness that marked my later life, His intimate love never left me. How grateful I am for such love.

While people in our lives may fail us, we can fully trust God because He is trustworthy. He is faithful and will never forsake or hurt us. As God is absolute in power, we have security nothing can compare to as we cling to Him. Our lives are in his utmost care. Resting in the Father, the pure water of completeness and joy fills our hearts and minds. Each day is new to experience how much God loves us in Christ Jesus.

In our experiences and emotions, the world can be a dangerous place, shaping our lives in the ways our reactions cope with them. Though the road may have been dark, light dawns at the foot of the cross. Sun pierces black clouds in the rays of Christ’s wonder and grace. His promises hold us close, forever.

Artwork and design: © Jeffrey M Green.

No comments:

Post a Comment