it is almost always that i picture a young child whenever i hear the word "cry".
i guess it is appropriate to think that way when crying unto to the Lord. it makes sense... to follow after children. why do children cry - when they're experiencing fear, discomfot, pain, to get attention. it seems as we get older, we're taught to "stop crying" or made to think that crying is a sign of weakness, and that we're somehow supposed to put on this strong front if not be strong individuals. you know, the whole expectation to have everything figured out and under control. so quit crying, suck it up duck! buck up chuck!
our bible study today talked about crying to God during stormy periods in our life. one of the questions posed was, "is is raining in your life right now" - raining of course reffering to the struggles or obstacles that we are currently facing. and of course the answer is yes. it's been a trying year. but currently, as school has just started, the winds are starting to pick up. it's been an adjustment trying to figure out this new schedule, and the potential hardships that projects and homeworks and tests bring. so definetely, it's raining in my life.
the narrator in the dvd that we were watching told this story about his walk in the woods with his son. his son was only about a year old at the time, and his dad was carrying him in some sort of hiking pack in his back. there wasn't a cloud in the sky when they set out for the woods toward the lake. later on during the walk, it started to rain. the droplets eventually turned into buckets. as the rain progressed, the fear in the little child grew, and started crying and shreiking at the top of his lungs. his dad took him out of his pack and held him tightly the rest of the way, repeatedly whispering, "i love you buddy. daddy knows the way home. it'll be okay."
this was a parallel to how God is when we are going through the "rain" in our lives. He holds us tightly, protecting us, and tells us, "i love you. i know the way home. it'll be okay". and if someone doesn't already have that kind of relationship with Him, He longs to have that kind of closeness with that person - with everyone.
i am that child, scared in the midst of the rain, crying... and in the midst of it all, the Lord will come and hold me close to Him, protecting me from all that may harm, letting me know that He knows the way, He knows what needs to be done, and that He loves me.
i am grateful for that Love that God has for me - the kind of love that didn't require me to be perfect or to have everything figured out before He could love me. His love is purely unconditional. i'm pretty sure it wasn't something that i've done or accomplished that has caused Him to love me - because there's nothing that i could've done. i am but a human with a multitude of flaws. something that i won't be able to explain, to understand, to perceive - is His love for me... He loves me. that's the bottomline. He loves me.
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
psalm 40 1-3
