Hope

You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. Psalm 71:5

In the devotional "Today's Daily Bread" was this Bible verse and the following poem:

Our strength and hope is in the Lord -
We rest secure in His sure Word;
And though we're tempted to despair
We know we're kept within His care

These are days when my heart is heavy and has dropped itself just under a giant, cold boulder in the pit of my stomach. A certain situation in my life has left me with no control, no answers, and the temptation to fall apart and let discouragement, despair and depression take control.

But today I will choose God. I will choose to trust in Him and believe He has control of it all. I will not try to manipulate anything or figure it all out, but instead will leave it in His loving and wise hands. I will choose to wait in silent obedience. I will choose to hope in Him. It is only in the darkest night sky that we can most clearly see the brillance of a shooting star.

I will find my comfort, my peace, my all and all in Christ and in His Word. I will wrap my favorite Psalm 23 around me like a comforting warm blanket and rest in Him... not because I am godly or wise or holy, but because I am utterly NOT... because I am weak and helpless, and therein lies my only wisdom - to know that in Him only is everything I need, all my answers, all my peace.

I will lift up the broken pieces of my heart as a sacrifice of praise to my Almighty God.

Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

To Let Go

To Let Go Takes Love
by Dr. Margaret J. Rinck

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring. It means I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off. It's the realization that I can't control another.

To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another. It's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to be protective; it's to permit another to face reality.

To "let go" is not deny, but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and to love more