God stopped and turned to look at me. His eyes stared into my soul as we stood for a long moment in silence. "We still have far to go; there will continue to be much hardship and discomfort.You will experience pain and fatigue, and be required to climb over and around seemingly insurmountable obstacles. You don't have to take this journey; You may choose to stop and any moment. I will never force you to move on. If you decide to continue, you will find it necessary to recommit every day to move onward. I will never leave your side. You can lean on me for strength and support and we will make it to the end together."
When He finished speaking, He stood quietly and waited. The choice really was mine to make. There would be no pressure, no coercing, no belittling me for my decision. And He was in no hurry for my answer. He would wait for as long as I needed.
It is a very difficult journey. Some days I am filled with strength and peace; on others I am so conflicted and unsure. Some days I know He is there right beside me...I can feel His presence. On others I wonder if I've fallen too far behind, and He is unaware of the distance between us as He continues on; sometimes panic sets in and I begin to doubt my ability to go any further.
One day recently as I was driving my daughter to school, I couldn't help but notice the sky was filled with huge black clouds which seemed to be threatening to drown me in a downpour of freezing cold rain; the blatant lack of sunlight choked me with a gloomy despair until a most comforting thought came gently into my mind. "The sun is there even though you can't see it. And God is still with you though you can't see His light. Hang on. The clouds of life will surely come and go, but God is ALWAYS near." A sense of peace began to fill my heart. A gentle calm settled in my mind. And God's unconditional love encompassed my soul...giving me much needed strength to keep going for yet another day.
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