My Strength

The past couple of days I had the opportunity to watch lots and lots of people at a Spring Folly event. People are very interesting! As I watched people of all ages, shapes, colors and sizes, pass by, God softened my heart toward them. I saw these people in a different way than usual. I started to wonder....what difficult situation are they facing this week? Have they lost a loved one? Do they suffer from a disease or chronic pain? Has their heart been broken lately? Has a friend betrayed them? Do they feel all alone? Are they having financial difficulties? Is someone physically or emotionally abusing them? Are they struggling with infertitity? Do they feel insecure or suffer from depression? Do they know that the Creator of this world loves them?

I've just been noticing lately that folks of every race, age, and background are all fighting a battle of some sort. All of us have something going on in our lives. Whether we're open about it or not, none of us have an easy peasy life. Last week I heard several testimonies of young moms who struggle with chronic pain, depression, loneliness, and fear. These ladies appear to have it all together. In fact, I would have never guessed that they struggled in any way.

People have said the same about me....that I look like I'm never in pain or that I am always happy. Sadly, I struggle with fibromyalgia pain almost everyday and I have postpartum depression that they just don't know much about. 

Us Moms, we get really good at putting on a smile and pretending that everything is "just fine." We are always taking care of everyone else and making the best of every situation. We hide all that we truly deal with. But God has started to show me that we're all in desperate need. We've all got something going on. We're all a mess, honestly. 

That's why this verse has been stuck in my head over the past week. Psalm 59: 17 says, "O, my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God." I love that Psalmist calls God "My Strength." I've never been so aware of my need for my Heavenly Father than I have been recently! I need His strength! I need Him to be my fortress! We all do. 

Today I am grateful that my God is my Strength. I don't have to muster up the strength to get through life's difficult situations. I can just rest in my Strength, my God! I am also thankful that God has opened my eyes to the struggles of others. It's easier to show grace to the people I encounter when I remember that they, too, are walking through a difficult situation. I'm also eager to pray for others and share the love of Jesus when I'm reminded that we're all in desperate need.

The next time your in crowd of people, consider what each person might be dealing with behind their masks and fake smiles. It has really changed my perspective and given me a desire to pray that God would be their Strength as He is mine!