There are times in all of our lives where we feel helpless, hopeless, and utterly alone. We feel the weight of all our worries, struggles, and hurts, and, sometimes, that weight seems like it is too much to bear. We’re hit with things we never saw coming, or tragedies we knew were bound to happen, but never knew quite when. We don’t know how to move on, how to even stay still, or how to find light in all of that darkness.

We just can’t do it on our own.

The good news is that we don’t have to. In fact, we’re not supposed to. We were made to rely on others, and, even more than that, be totally dependent on God. The hard things that come our way sometimes make us want to turn from all that is good in our lives. We want to shut out the world, lie in bed, and never have to talk to another human again. It is completely normal and OK to feel that way. What’s not OK, though, is actually living that way. We have to let love in. It’s all around us, begging for us to accept it and believe in it.

No matter what you’ve done, what you’ve been through, what’s happening to you right now, or whatever may be weighing on your heart at this moment, you deserve love and are offered love every moment of every day.

So take time. Take all the time you need. Take time to rest in this love, rest in the abundance of joy that is found all around you, if only you are willing to see it. If you could only see half the amount of love and joy that is within you and around you at all times, you would never feel the need to be sad again.

God is offering you all of that love and joy, freely, throughout your whole life. He’s there in the hardest times, when you can physically feel the hurt in your heart, and in the happiest times, when your cheeks hurt from smiling. The song, “Times”, by Tenth Avenue North offers a perfect description of this perfect love from our Good Father. A verse of the song, one of my favorite songs for times of healing, is below. I hope it brings you as much peace as it does me.

I hear You say:

“My love is over, it's underneath

It's inside, it's in between

The times that you doubt me

When you can't feel

The times that you question 'Is this for real?'

The times you're broken

The times that you mend

The times you hate me

And the times that you bend

Well my love is over, it's underneath

It's inside, it's in between

The times that you're healing

And when your heart breaks

The times that you feel like you've fallen from grace

The times you're hurting

The times that you heal

The times you go hungry and are tempted to steal

In times of confusion, in chaos and pain

I'm there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame

I'm there through your heart-ache

I'm there in the storm

My love I will keep you by my power alone

I don't care where you've fallen or where you have been

I'll never forsake you

My love never ends

It never ends”

For the whole song, listen here: