Yes, it's true that the past year has been a hard one. It has been harsher for some, than for others, so we are all hoping for a better one. There have been times when we've all felt like giving up in despair, but we kept holding on.
We all have different ways of doing that, of finding strength for the moment. One of mine is to remember, and sing, the words of some of my favorite hymns and songs.
One of my favorite hymns is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" in which one of the verses is written, "Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."
Another, and one I have sung often, to myself, over the years, is "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." This one has a special meaning to me, and has gotten me through many, many, difficult, and painful moments in my life...especially this verse:
"Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."
I have been singing that song for as long as I can remember, but one day, it literally gave me the hope that was close to dying within me.
I was on my way from a doctor's office, where I had been given a very bad report, and while driving along, nearly unable to see because of the tears pouring out of my eyes, I looked up, and on a bumper sticker on the car just ahead of me, were the words, "His eye is on the sparrow."
I can't begin to tell you what that did to me, and for me. It was like a promise that I could hold onto...and I did. And God was faithful, just as he had promised.
I hope we can all hold on to the promises, even when it seems that hope is dying within us.
We all have different ways of doing that, of finding strength for the moment. One of mine is to remember, and sing, the words of some of my favorite hymns and songs.
One of my favorite hymns is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" in which one of the verses is written, "Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."
Another, and one I have sung often, to myself, over the years, is "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." This one has a special meaning to me, and has gotten me through many, many, difficult, and painful moments in my life...especially this verse:
"Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."
I have been singing that song for as long as I can remember, but one day, it literally gave me the hope that was close to dying within me.
I was on my way from a doctor's office, where I had been given a very bad report, and while driving along, nearly unable to see because of the tears pouring out of my eyes, I looked up, and on a bumper sticker on the car just ahead of me, were the words, "His eye is on the sparrow."
I can't begin to tell you what that did to me, and for me. It was like a promise that I could hold onto...and I did. And God was faithful, just as he had promised.
I hope we can all hold on to the promises, even when it seems that hope is dying within us.
