mercies

"I will sing of your mercies that lead me through valleys of sorrow to rivers of joy. Hallelujah!"

Lately, I've been thinking about the many ways that God has provided for my needs. I have not gone a day without food, shelter, clothing, and love. I have a wonderful husband who works diligently to support us. I get to attend grad school in a field I enjoy.

However, we've been through so many hard times, and we're not out of the woods financially. We have been able to pay back some debts, but there's still a lot of hurt and disappointment, humiliation and anxiety.

My husband came across the new song by Laura Story called "Blessings," and it has meant so much to me. You can listen to the song on her website. It speaks so clearly to what we're going through - that we've prayed, that we've seen blessings, but that we're still walking through the valley of shadows. In spite of all those things, we feel God's presence with us. We know He has a plan for us through this.

Even though it still hurts. It reminds me of something my friend Suzy said last year - wondering if these valleys we go through - what if these valleys are the mountaintops? Can we be content where we are, anticipating God's grace to us through these times?

"What if your blessings come through raindrops? And what if your healing comes through tears? And what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy? And what if trials of this life: the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are your mercies in disguise?