Oxygen

I know that it has been awhile since I have posted on here, but I tend to write when life is going well. When life is going well, the words pour forth, but when the going gets tough, the words don’t come. I think I feel like if I write during hard times, then that makes the hard thing that much more real, and I don’t want to have to feel it that deeply or give anyone the chance to read my real feelings on a hard situation. So I close up and I don’t write about it. But I realize that there are lessons to be learned in both the good and the bad times. This semester has tested me more than any other point in my life. God has asked me constantly, “Where do you turn when the going gets tough?” I have had to battle this constantly within, but I want to put this in writing today. After months of struggling (and actually still being in the struggle), my answer to that question is, “I choose YOU, Lord. Above all else, in both the good and the bad, you are my refuge and my stronghold. I will always turn to you.” My faith has become my own through this journey, and that is one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received. God is my oxygen, and when I don’t think I am going to make it to the next moment, the small prayers are the oxygen that connect the moments, and before I know it, another day has passed and I have once again survived the pain. God always pulls me through, even though it’s not ever easy. He is the reason I live, because He gives purpose to every moment of everyday. I don’t know if this makes sense, but I hope that this encourages even just one person. Life is hard, but God is always here and always with you. You are NEVER ALONE. Let God be your oxygen when you don’t think you can take another breath, and before you know it, you will have made it through another day.

This psalm has been so encouraging to me lately. Pour out your complaints to God, He is your very best friend in the world and will never leave you.

You Are My Refuge

With my voice I cry out to the Lord;

with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

2 

I pour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

3

When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

4 

Look to the right and see:

there is none who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

5 

I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

6 

Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me!

7 

Bring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will deal bountifully with me.