Journey into Forever

" The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:17-18 "And the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered  a little while,  will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast." -1 Peter 5:10 We all watch them...well many of us  anyway.  You know, the Hallmark movies.  The "happily ever after" ones where eveything works out in the end, everybody gets along with everyone else, and all is right with the world.  They are "feel good" movies, because watching them does make you feel good.....unless..... Unless in our own lives things aren't all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.  Unless we have problems in relationships that are  too painful to talk about to others, so we stuff them down and suffer in silence.  Things like

   "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands,you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded."                                - James 4:7-8 California is burning again.   When we went there last year, my husband and I were shocked at the devastation we saw in the fires' aftermath.  Nothing left. Nothing.  Lives forever changed by the impact of a long drought followed by a devastating spark.  That's all it takes - a spark- when the drought is long and hard.  After months without significant water, the vegetation dies, dries up, and sits as tinder waiting to fuel the next big fire. To be honest, that has been an analogy of my life the past few months.  I could offer any number of excuses...about illness,events, and attitudes that contributed to my spiritual drought.  Many of those I might offer could be REALLY GOOD excuses (if there is su