a ray of hope...

It's almost midnight, and I had too much caffeine for my own good tonight. In between all the assignments due this week and the crazy amount of hours at work I have to say an extra cup of coffee isn't too much of a bad thing. It appears life has been a bit of a blur this past couple months. Winter Quarter has me consumed in reading and writing papers every week, but I do have to say it has re-established my love of writing--and I have not had that for quite some time.

It's times like these that I really need to write, I crave it, and the release it brings to my soul. Someone close to me lost her father on Friday. He lost his battle to depression. I've never quite understood depression, although I have experienced this kind of loss before. I was so saddened by the loneliness he must have felt in his own heart and spirit to see no other way out. I imagine he felt he was battling a disease he could never win. I can never know what someone in that position feels, and I will never pretend to understand that kind of pain.

I wonder how many times we think of the deep sorrow that lies within the hearts of people around us. Or how many times we ignore it. I think of a young girl who comes to me every morning yearning for a cup of coffee to get her through the day. I always wondered what could make her so tired. She is young and vibrant; she should be energized and full of life. What I did not know is that young girl stays up until three in the morning every day cleaning bars and restaurants with her mother so they can afford somewhere to live. At eight she wakes for an eight-hour day, and I am the person who can give her that little cup of hope every morning. She lives in pain, and she often feels like there is no way out, but how inspiring to me that making her drink everyday has given her something to look forward to.

Life is busy; I think it will always be. Somehow we must learn to slow our minds and our hearts down to embrace the world around us. When I was younger, I was guilt of carrying the burden of the world on my shoulders. The entire world it seemed. It took God a while to teach me to release my worries to him, and when I did I understood the opportunity to carry the weight of my friends burdens instead.

I have learned so much in my years as a Christian and as I continue to embrace the desire to change lives for the Lord, I am able to see the things he has brought into my life to shape me. I fully grasp the need to love one another, to give hope, to cherish every breath, everyday. I understand what it means to not let the sun go down on your anger, to forgive one another and to live each day with heaven as your goal. My cousin's father was a man of the Lord, and I believe just what Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I believe her father is heaven, and I reminded that lives are precious and there are many hurting people who are alone because they do not know the Lord. Each of us deserves the chance to know joy, and the chance to be loved in such an unconditional way. I pray you go out and seek those who are lost, and bring them back to the Father who can heal them, and give them life...for eternity.

Blessings friends.