The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Hi! Today I don't have a recipe, a craft or a garden post. I just have some random thoughts to share.  Can you stick with me 'til the end of it though?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us..."

- A Tale of Two Cities

 Charles Dickens, 1859

In a lot of ways I feel like this opening line from Dickens sums up our world so well. I feel like my generation has had it pretty easy, we've lived in a "season of light." We enjoy more freedoms, and opportunities than perhaps any another generation. We have traveled more and know more about what's going on around the world at any given moment than any other generation--thanks to amazing advances in technology. 

Thanks to that same technology, we also have an increasingly broader spectrum of news at a faster pace than ever. Anyone can report things, and because of that we know more. We can't pretend not to know.  If you happen to be a news junkie, like myself, you know that there are unspeakable things happening in our world. It seems even more so these last couple of months. There are pandemics spreading, terrorists ravaging, and countries threatening to overtake one another. There are 30 million people today living in slavery. So you might also say this is a "season of darkness."  

The other day I was going to bed after reading more news, and talking about some of my recent fears with a friend. I was anxious, and the world felt dark. I stopped in Thing 1's room to kiss him good night and found that he had hung this door hanger he made at Sunday School on his light-up globe, right next to Syria and Iraq. 

I took a deep breath and felt like God had just sent me a lunchbox note on a bad day at school.  I don't know what the next days or months will hold, but I do know that God will be there. He already knows. He won't be surprised, and in the end, He wins. So instead of worrying, I'm going to pray. That may sound cheesy to you, especially if you don't believe that God is in control, that He loves us and that He has a plan, but I believe all those things. A friend recently shared with me some truly amazing stories of very specific answers to prayer; miracles, some would say. And it made me realize that I have sold prayer short for too long. So I'm going forward today, with a new resolve to trust God, to talk to Him, and not to worry. 

"Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." 

                                                                      Psalm 62:8

I don't know what you're worried about today. Maybe Ebola and the Middle East are the farthest things from your mind. Maybe you are just struggling to get though the day. Sickness, feeling alone, hating your job, losing your way. I don't know. But I do know this: God always keeps His promises. That doesn't always look like I want it to, and it's not always on my timeline, but when I look back at different struggles in my life I always realize that it was true.

God always keeps His Promises.

Maybe you need to hear that today too. There is always hope and YOU are always loved!

Keep Calm and Carry On, dear friends.

- Haley