He Has Always Been There

Recently, I was asked to make a list of some of the most painful experiences in my life and then look for God's hand in those experiences. Fortunately, my list was fairly short, but interesting. I wrote down things like losing my grandma, family illness, and moving so far away from my lifelong home in Idaho. All circumstances of various levels and kinds of pain. Nevertheless, He has always been there, and not in the shadows just hanging out until all was well, but in the thick of it with me. He has redeemed each experience and used them to bring me closer to those I love, including Himself. I can't say that I always knew He was there when I was in the midst of chaos, especially in my youth. But how loved I feel now when I can look back and know, even see the evidence, that He was always with me. I plan to remember that during the next storm. It is easy to feel peace when it is quiet and peaceful...it is only through the Lord that we can feel genuine peace when the thunder sounds and we feel exposed, like we're the tallest thing in an open field. Our circumstances may not be changed, but when we are changed, when we chose to see Him through the rain, our whole experience of what is happening is also changed, and we will always find redemption.