Peace Like A River

Close your eyes.....take a deep breath......

…..Imagine for just a moment yourself on a quaint little harbor, just feet away from the still, quiet waters. Here you breathe....you exist....you are, you. The earth standing still...nothing between you and God…..

This weekend I had the opportunity to go up North with a dear friend for a little getaway. It was quite the experience, as it was my first time going up to Mackinaw. We encountered interesting people, ate good food, drank delicious Chai, drove over the bridge with such a rush. But more than the rush, more than the satisfaction of good food and drink, and time spent together, it was one moment that stood out above the rest. This moment was the very reason God brought us up there.

….As I sat there, starring out into the quiet waters....nothing standing between me and God, a sudden peace swept over me. A peace I had never felt before. And it was in that moment God spoke. It was then, I knew that everything was going to be okay…..

Often times in our lives we get so caught up in what life throws at us. Some of us lose control, some harden up and some of us just nonchalantly go along with the flow. For some of us, it is in those times that we begin to lose hope, lose faith, we no longer have peace in life. Its that diagnosis you just got from the doctor, maybe you've been declared bankrupt, or that shattered heart from a broken relationship, or those divorce papers from the person you thought you'd be with forever, or possibly the death of a loved one, maybe even that one 1 lb. of weight gain on the scale. Whatever it is, you've been shaken.

........As I began to cry, all I wanted to do in that moment was sing to my God. One song came to my heart......

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio G. Spafford

…..In the midst of your shaken world.....go with me....back to that harbor......that place of refuge, a dwelling place....where you can be you, broken, raw, vulnerable, bare…….

…..Take a deep breath. Now allow God's peace and love to shower over you. And know that,

Everything is going to be okay.