Seasons of Struggle
Several years ago, my son made the travel baseball team. It was a dream of his to be on this team. He tried out three different times before he finally got accepted. Baseball quickly became everything to him. He went to every practice, every game, and took private lessons. He gave it all he had, plus some. A year later, he was cut from the team after the coach promised there would be no cuts made. I remember the night we had to tell him, and how he crumbled to the floor in tears. His world had been shattered after he had given everything to it.
That night, I crawled in bed with him. I held him close to me and felt his warm tears run down my arm. I thought about the evening and the events that led up to it. Were there lessons to be learned? Sure. But at that moment, in bed with him, only one thing mattered- I needed him to feel my arms around him, I needed him to know he was loved and to know I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew he was OK.
Friends, in this life, we will all encounter seasons of struggle. There will be days, even moments, that shatter our world. This recovery journey is so full of ups and downs. Days when we feel like we have given all we have, plus some, and yet the struggle and the hurt are still so real. In those moments, I tend to look for the lesson. Somehow, I have convinced myself that if I learn God’s lesson fast, the struggle will end fast too. Maybe there’s a lesson. Maybe there’s not.
Then I remember that night in bed with my son. I picture my Father holding me close and my tears running down His strong arm. The same things that mattered to me as a mother matter to our Father.
“Oh, Daddy! I hurt so badly. I thought I did everything You asked. What am I supposed to learn?”
“Sweet child, all that matters right now is that you feel my Presence. You need to know that you are loved and that I am not going anywhere. That is what is important. Rest in the hard because I am holding you.”
Seasons of struggle can be so exhausting; discouragement and hopelessness threaten to take over when territory we thought we had reclaimed becomes the enemy’s battleground. On days when I am battle-weary and feel too weak to fight for myself, I crumble in my Daddy’s arms and let the King of Kings fight for me.
He is right there.
He loves you.
He is not going anywhere.
- Tammy Boyd
FINDINGbalance Prayer Group Coordinator & Group Leader. Mom of Boys. Family Chauffeur. Lover of Laughter. Community Creator. Freedom Chaser. Overcomer.
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