Walking back to Happiness - 9 Sept 2008

Part and parcel of our journey through life is the fact that at some point we will have to go through a lonely or sad place. Sometimes this is due to a situation we may be facing, it may relate to family or work issues, or maybe a medical issue or depression becomes part of your life for a time. At these times, the road we are travelling can seem very dark and uninviting and the journey can be very hard to continue. Instead, we may want to hide away, or simply stop and rest for a while.

There have been several dark times for me. As a child I suffered from depression which impacted on several family relationships. As I grew up I also went through some very lonely and frightening places and had the sadness of my parents divorcing which affected me in many ways. And in more recent times my journey has felt lonely and I have limped through some rough ground. More of that another day! Many times it has not been a happy walk.

The hope that we have in all of these times is that through Jesus we do have a companion and friend who will help us walk back to happiness. It may be a quick trip as he swiftly leads us back onto the happier paths, or it may be a long old trek, but Jesus will always be beside us and will carry our bags and bandage our wounds when we stumble and are hurting. He doesn’t want us to be in a place of sadness, He wants us to allow Him to lead us back to happiness.

I am sure that you are all familiar with the poem “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. This beautiful poem tells the story of a journey in which she looks back and sees that whilst at times it is obvious from the footprints that God was walking beside her, at other times there is only one set of prints and she questions as to where God was at those times.

“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand are when I carried you” The Lord replied. (Mary Stevenson, Footprints in the Sand.)

You may like to listen to the following song by Leona Lewis as you reflect today on the times when you too have been carried, and give thanks that God will help us take that walk back to happiness. This is where the bar of chocolate may be handy too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2ZLWeh3ks