I have to admit I’ve been struggling lately.  I’ve been in a place of contemplation.

It’s not that anything terrible is happening in my own life at the moment.  Well sure, we don’t have enough money in the bank, and there are too many days until the next paycheck. There are disagreements in the house, but hey, who doesn’t have them? There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be done, but there never was.

It’s more than that.

There are people suffering around me. People I care about, people I love.

Some have been hit with the dreaded ca. Cancer. A sudden and surprising diagnosis. A true fight for their lives.

I know many people dealing with chronic health issues that aren’t likely to get better any time soon. Sometimes, despite doing everything right, the healing doesn’t come.

I want to help, but I feel helpless. I want to make it all go away, to wave a magic wand and make it all better, but I can’t.

The seagull in the above picture was hopping along on the sand when we realized he had lost a foot. It was rather amazing how he had adapted. He got where he needed to go, perhaps a bit slower than the others. But  when he took off and flew, he was just like all the rest. His loss didn’t stop him from getting where he needed to go, or living out what he was created for.

The apostle Paul spoke of a thorn in the flesh. Although there is speculation, we can’t be certain of what this was. Three times he asked the Lord to take it away. The answer he got? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9 NIV)

Paul’s response to that was, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9,10 NIV)

He didn’t let it stop him, but adapted, and continued on in the Lord’s work. What a great example he was, and still is.

So to my friends who are struggling, don’t give up, don’t be defeated. God’s strength shows up best in our weaknesses. Be strong and of good faith. You can do this.

~Carolyn

“Life isn’t easy. Together we can make it better.”