All It Takes

April 3, 2017

Day 93: God Makes The Weak Strong:
"Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors." —Joel 3:10

When I first read the above scripture I didn't feel all that inspired by it, but Anderson's anecdote
made me realize that it could be inspiring to someone, someone like Catherine. Catherine's home had been robbed, her husband had died shortly afterward, and she had had a stroke and had been admitted to a nursing home to receive care. Catherine had grown despondent, so the staff called in Dr. Anderson. When he arrived, she hid under her covers, which didn't stop Anderson. He talked to her through the sheets and told her, "God has further plans for your future with us. He wants you to pick up your plowshare and hammer it into a sword and fight for this new journey—this plan for your life."  When he left, she was sitting in a chair by the window, "where the sunshine could pour into her soul and dry her tears." She eventually was "well enough to return home, strengthened and ready for battle."

That's really all it takes sometimes—one line of scripture, one caring person unwilling to let us wallow in self-pity. One well-timed piece of advice and we snap out of it and realize that whatever it is that we are experiencing will pass.  Hurt heals, pain lessens, attitudes change, and joy returns.