Where are you?

In the fear, in the anxiety and in the struggle.

Where are you?

In the loss, in the heartache, in the agony and the tears.

Where are you?

When the future feels overwhelmingly unknown and scary. When it doesn’t look like you thought it would.

Where are you?

In the loneliness, in the separation and the rejection.

Where are you?

In the chaos, in the deafening noise and the mess.  When you know one more look at the news will send you over the edge.

Where are you?

When we aren’t quite sure which way to turn, or how to make a good decision.

Stop for a moment. Be quiet. Be Still.

You are still there. You haven’t gone anywhere. In the big and the small. Maybe in these days, these days that are long and at times feel like an eternity, we need to search a bit harder for you but you are still there.

You are there in the text that says, “I love you and I am with you, I have your back.”

You are there in the flowers and brownies that turn up on the doorstep.

You are in the little boy that shouts over the fence to come play Moana or who wants to sword fight.

You are there in the Instagram feed filled with promises that are true throughout the ages, that pop up at just the right moment.

You are there in the many many walks, in the woods, the rivers, the trees and the wildflowers.

You are there in the presence of friendship, those who have many years of memories and those that are just beginning, in those moments of connection, of understanding, of caring.

You are there in the love of family, that lets you cry, that cries with you, that keeps wanting and believing for so much more.

You are in that small voice that whispers in the middle of the night that this is not the end of the story, that there is still so much to come, that wills you to hold on.

You are there in the heat of the sun on our faces and in the rain as it pelts down on the roof.

You are there in the quiet times where it is just you and him, where it is only his voice and his words that stand.

You are there in the moments where hearts are full; music is turned up loudly and there is dancing.

Your are in the tears and the laughter.

You are threaded throughout it all.

You remind us of all the ways you have come through for us in the past helping us to know you will do the same in the future.

You remind us that we are never alone.

You remind us that there is ALWAYS beauty even in the hardest of places and times.  ALWAYS.

You remind us that light always outshines the darkness, the love is greater than hate, and truth wins over the lies.

You remind us of what really matters, what is worth fighting for and what to invest in.

You remind us that best is yet to come.

But you also ask of us too.

You ask us to be that light, that love and that truth for others, to carry them when they can’t stand.

You ask us to speak you into the lives of others, into brokenness and pain.

You ask us to be carriers of healing and restoration; you call us to be generous.

You ask us to live out the joy that is so entwined with your character.

You ask us to believe for more, to fight for more, to speak out for more.

HOPE.

Along with love and faith you are my favourite.

Thank you that you are the greatest of things and always will be.

HOPE.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” I Corinthians 13 vs. 13.