In His Arms

So I found this pic yesterday morning.  So comforting.  And as a kid this was my favorite Bible verse.  I think as a kid I felt that I was to be quite and not bother anyone.  And I loved the verse the first time I heard it, because it made it okay for me to come to Him without restriction.  In my adulthood so many things have caused that feeling of restriction to settle back in and make me feel like God is a million miles away when I feel bad.

My mom and dad never seemed to really understand when I felt bad about something.  Negative emotions were just not acceptable.  Even some of my extended family, most of the time, did not know what to do with a crying kid except punish them or guilt them into quit crying.  This definitely made its mark on me in not the best way.

I have been struggling to get back into a routine since vacation. I feel like a 3rd wheel a lot lately and without family time much, my heart is just hurting.  I'm sad and grieving some losses in my life and that old restriction starts to creep in.  It starts to make me feel like I'm stuck in a cage unable to talk anyone or God. 

It is natural to feel lonely or hurt because we are disappointed with where we are in life sometimes.  God always has His arms open wide.  Even if we don't always feel it, God is always by our side in our toughest struggles.

I went running the other night still in my grumpy mood.  I had been praying for several days that God would help me get out of my funk.  I was doing my cool down walking home and saw some dirt and some gravel in the path where the city is doing some side walk and street work.  I stopped and drew a smiley face in the dirt with my tennis shoe randomly, don't know really why.  Then it was almost like God just whispered in my ear "That's my girl!"

I know it is simple and may even seem a little silly.  But I really believe God takes little moments like these to whisper words of love to us and speak to our hearts when sometimes no one else can. In that moment I felt like all the barriers were removed and I could run to His arms again. Made me feel like the picture, safe in His arms. 

Really awesome reminder, and I've needed a lot lately. But the burden is lifting, and things are getting better. Nothing has really changing in my life, but my perspective changed.  My God fights for me and gives me just the right reminders at just the right times to help me keep my hope and faith in the darkness. 

We are always welcome in God's arms and presence even when we are feeling totally grumpy or down. 

• Romans 8:38-39 : "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
   neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." NIV

Nothing can separate us! So no matter what state we are in  we can always look to Him and run into His arms of Love.