Salt Leaven and Light

Last week was rough.

When it rains, it pours.

Thursday night I’d reached my limit. Standing in the laundry room, I laid my head on the washing machine and broke down crying.

My children witnessed the whole spectacle.

We talked about how life is like a rollercoaster, with its highs and lows. This was clearly a low I was experiencing, but I knew that, with time, the low would become a high.

Still, I struggled to be at peace when I fell asleep that night.

The next morning I awoke to the unwelcome sound of my alarm, wondering how I would ever be able to face the day. I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

I whispered a quick prayer asking for strength, then glanced down at the open scriptures on my nightstand. In a last- ditch effort to find peace, I said,

“Heavenly Father, please help me read a verse that will bring me peace. I don’t even have the strength right now to turn the page and find a particular scripture. Please help me see a verse on this page that will give me the strength I need to get through the day.”

As I looked down, my eyes fell on the following verses:

Romans 8:30-31

30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

I couldn’t help but smile, for God had answered my prayer.

Long story short, I made it through that day, and by the next morning I was feeling on top of the world.

“See,” I told my children, “with the help of prayer and the scriptures, life always gets better, if we just hang on.”

Despite what the world and social media would have us believe, life was not intended to be easy all the time. Life, with its neverending ups and downs, is the ultimate rollercoaster ride. It is meant to be an adventure, filled with highs and lows and everything inbetween.

Our individual rollercoaster rides are intended to turn us to God. I don’t normally care for rollercoaster rides, but this one is a ride worth taking.