One Wee Spark

I have spent many hours, days, weeks, months Oh, probably even years Errantly believing that the problem was me That the heartache was my creation that the stress was my divination that the guilt was my possession that the shame was my obsession But I did not create the problem It was conceived and birthed long before I had even drawn a single breath Before I even knew who you were, let alone I The weight of the world was not my masterpiece Slaved over at the cost of your happiness I am not that big or powerful I cannot even control me Your conviction was not in my court For I would have held you even more accountable Your sentence would have likely born less leniency And the parole you enjoy now would have been banished Your badge of dishonor hung proudly upon my lapel For years and hours that time cannot recount But I have disowned it as I tried to disown your problem I was powerless to do either for so long But I own today my problems Not yours I have e...

Did you know that the most used phrase in the Bible is "Do not be afraid"? It is. And I'm only beginning to understand why. The past year has brought me to a point where I've had no choice but to face my fears. And you know what? God is always with me. He's always good. And most of my fears weren't real, and none of them were as big as I feared they were. So whatever it is you are facing right now--broken relationships, financial issues, health problems, I encourage you: "Do not be afraid!" God is with you and will be beside you. And there is nothing so sweet as the recognition of this and lounging in that blessing.

When I was much younger, probably only in fifth or sixth grade, I became acquianted with the music of Amy Grant. My first cassette (I'm not that old..but I do remember cassettes!) was her Tennessee Christmas album. I must have played it nonstop from Christmas through July that year! Afterwards, I found some of her older cassettes on sale at a Christian bookstore, and increased my collection of her recordings. One of my immediate favorites was her song "All I Ever Have To Be". The song spoke to me right where I was, in the midst of an unhappy childhood, in the midst of people-pleasing, in the midst of never being good enough. I understood at 10 years old the fear of not being good enough; I wrangled with it daily. And although at the time I was not able to grasp the solution in Christ that Amy was sharing, the song got me through many dark times. Flash forward to the last ten years, as a wife, mother, and employee. The effects of my childhood were still haunting me, and I ...