silence

ken read this at the end of our service on sunday after i led our group and told my story.

i think we all needed to hear it.

i'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, 

the taste of ashes, the poison i've swallowed. 

i remember it all—oh, how well i remember— 

the feeling of hitting the bottom. 

but there's one other thing i remember, 

and remembering, i keep a grip on hope:

God's loyal love couldn't have run out, 

his merciful love couldn't have dried up. 

they're created new every morning. 

how great your faithfulness! 

i'm sticking with God (i say it over and over). 

he's all i've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, 

to the woman who diligently seeks. 

it's a good thing to quietly hope, 

quietly hope for help from God. 

it's a good thing when you're young 

to stick it out through the hard times.

when life is heavy and hard to take, 

go off by yourself. 

enter the silence. 

bow in prayer. 

don't ask questions: 

wait for hope to appear. 

don't run from trouble. 

take it full-face. 

the "worst" is never the worst.

-lamentations 3:19-29