What if you stood on the crest of a hill and knew in the crevices of your soul that your life had hit a wall? What if you whispered down the aisles of humanity that your life tended down and felt no feelings at all? What if you began to be convinced that you were a ghost?
…
Blood is thicker they say. Warmer, definitely. The red stuff dripped from his fingers. He could feel it, too, pooling under his shirt. His head was clear but all he could do was stare at the shafts leading into his chest. Three of them, altogether, leaving very little left of his heart. Is this the end?
…
Life is tough. Are we grateful for the time we have been given? Do you want to hide from the wounds that tear open the heart? Can you embrace the broken pieces to find a new start? Or don't you have the strength to try?
…
WHY? WHY? WHY? He crumpled to his knees. Tears mingled with his blood as he tried to grasp the arrows, grasp what had happened. I need…Your…Hand. I can't… can't.
…
'But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"' - Romans 9:20
No. No, it won't. But even still God listens to our hearts, wants to hear them even! We have no right but He extends us the privilege anyways. Is He not glorious?! He holds me up, though I am on my knees. He keeps the pieces of my heart firm, though the arrows shatter it. And He gives me peace amidst my tears, my sorrow, my pain.
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"…And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think…I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding onto something."
"What are we holding onto…?"
"That there's some good in this world… and it's worth fighting for." He is worth living for, and dying for. For God is the only good, the light in the darkness.
"Once the cards are dealt you have to play with them like it or not, you know."
"Every moment has pain and joy. The trick is focusing on the joy instead. That's the only way to live a happy life."
'I know how to be brought low, and how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.' - Philippians 4:12-13 [emphasis added]
…
He finally got his fingers behind the shafts. Grunting, tears running down his face, he pushed and pushed. Christ is my Savior, my strength, my all. He…is…my…Joy. Slowly, surely, the arrows went deeper. They sunk in, disappearing in the crimson stream of his life. I will be content. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! He bent lower, hugging the wound close. Lord, thank you for my children. Thank you for blessing me.
…
Are you grateful for the time you have been given? Can you make out the beauty from broken bones? I tell you, not without God. Not without a Savior. Can you stand there and know that your life has hit a wall, that it is the end, and be able to get back up without God? No. Not with purpose, not with clarity, not with love and thankfulness and joy! Without Jesus what is there worth fighting for? Without Jesus it is the end! Darkness and danger have prevailed and there is no new day to dawn.
But God is here. Jesus is in our hearts, if you have accepted Him as the savior for your sins. He's piecing you back together from every blow. He's giving your heart joy that you might not even know. And though the end will come, know you will be exempt. For, those who Jesus saves it isn't the end. There is no end.
