Psalm 40:2 “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire: he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
It all started on a Saturday afternoon when we decided to take the girls for a drive in the mountains. It had just rained heavy for a few days and the view of the mountains from our house was amazing. As we continued on our drive, we decided to stop where the trees introduced us to a beautiful meadow. The girls, after being stuck inside of the house because of the heavy rain, could not get out of the car fast enough. That is when we heard her scream, “Daddy, help, I’m sinking!” Katie, who was just about four at the time, had stumbled upon a huge mud hole. The rain soaked ground had turned the meadow into sludge of thick mud which had swallowed her up to her knees.
We proceeded to instruct her to lift her legs and take a step. You could see she was getting more frustrated by each step. Her frustration soon turned to fear which finally turned to tears. My husband quickly dragged himself into the mud and pulled her out. He picked her up and we tried to calm her down. She looked up at us with tears in her eyes and said, “I thought I was going to be there for never and never.” We proceeded to tell her we would never just leave her there and we would always protect her.
How sweet of the Lord to bring this memory to me in one of my darkest times of grief. I am sure you too have had those days when you feel you cannot take another moment, living in never-never land. You, I am sure, have known of this land. The land where we feel we will never laugh again, never have joy again. It is the land where our loss is unbearable, and when we feel we will never make it to the other side of this immeasurable suffering. It was in a time of living in this dark place when Katie’s words sprang in my mind, “I thought I would be there for never and never.” I felt as if the Lord was speaking to me. My husband and I would have never left Katie in this mud hole for never and never. The Lord also has promised He will never leave me or forsake me. He too would carry me out of never-never land and restore my footing on solid rock.
Lord, thank you for using our memories to offer us hope when we feel hopeless.
– Michele
