Have you ever had one of those days …

… when you just cannot help but see the Hand of God in your day? These last couple of days have been rough. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Spiritually? I’m hanging on to the Lord with all my strength. And He continues to encourage me daily. Sometimes hourly.

My emotional roller coaster days have been filled with extreme lows and some more level riding. I freely admit that some of my stuff has been because I haven’t been so great at “guarding my heart and mind” as I should (Phil 4). All well intentioned … still remaining where my thoughts should not be.

God is SO into timing. The timing of a great conversation last night — a growth conversation with hubby, only to be followed by a SERIOUSLY difficult issue in the form of a scene on a TV show that threw my little world again into a tailspin. I am persuaded beyond a doubt, however, that God was even in the timing of this. What if I had been alone when my life earthquake hit? What a mess I would have been. Instead, hubby and I had enjoyed a sweet time, probably preparing me/us for what happened next. And while a very, very difficult scene of life was in part reenacted before my eyes, while my tears flowed freely and my heart ached so, I was yet held by one who knows some of the pain that has resulted from recent events in our lives but who still loves me dearly and wants to help me and us push through all these things. Yes, God is into timing.

Then this morning, I SOOOO needed to get “reglued” a bit, wanting to remain much longer in my QT. Ice and freezing rain were forecast and many things were cancelled in our area today. I found myself praying (I confess) that my Meals on Wheels route would be cancelled today (how selfish is that?) so that I could return from dropping one son off to work to be able to extend my QT. Instead, I got a call that meals were arriving to be delivered … followed by son saying he isn’t feeling well and calling in sick to work. So my QT got extended, not in the way I envisioned, but still I cannot help but appreciate the Lord’s timing.

Determined that though the enemy of my soul may try to derail me and discourage me from what I am called to do, I pushed through some of my “issues” this morning and got down to the business of studying His Word. Specifically, looking back on some of the places He has taken me these last weeks, searching for His fingerprints. I found again Psalm 73.26 and Proverbs 24.10.

Psalm 73.26 AMP My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever. MSG God is rock-firm and faithful. TLB My health fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains! He is the Strength of my heart; He is mine forever!

Proverbs 24.10 AMP If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. NAS If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited.

If I allow myself to become fainthearted, weary, and lose heart in my day of adversity and struggle, my strength is limited. I am limited in my ability to endure, to continue, to press forward.

My day of distress can look like many things: battle-weary, tired, perhaps frantic, hurried, harried, scared. Brokenhearted, confused, doubting, hurt, in pain. Vulnerable, exposed.

Then He took me back to some journaling about my “hitting the wall” of life — or rather and more specifically, my NOT hitting the wall in any of the marathons & ultras. I’ve run through some “bad patches” when the running hasn’t been all that great. But I’ve not yet hit the wall. He has shown me only recently that my “wall” is really His Fortress. I have long felt that I Run to the Lord.

I know that there is more I need to digest in the “wall” and what He has been showing me about “eating while running and resting while running” (a decidedly recent and ultra lesson). However, this morning, I am simply persuaded that His timing is awesome. As I was penning my last line this morning, my sweet hubby called … just to check on me. I nearly burst into tears looking at the caller id.

Yes, God is very good. And I love Him so.