through

Last week I prayed "out loud" on my blog. I was nervous about it, and I deliberated long and hard before I hit publish. There was a lot about it that felt scary and risky to me. There's a lot about it that still feels that way. But, right or wrong, I hit publish... And there it was.

And then the comments started streaming in.

Words poured freely out of fellow velveteen hearts.

Honest, raw, heartwrenching words.

Of pain.

Of praise.

Of questions and answers.

Of deep soul aches.

Of longing.

Of love.

It has been so moving and humbling to read the words that spilled out in the hallowed ground of a simple blog post.

It's left me wishing I could say or do something that would make everything better.

But I know I can't. And I know it wasn't the point to begin with.

You didn't put voice to your long-unspoken prayers so that you'd receive platitudes and advice in return. So I don't want to offer either.

Just know that my heart is resounding an "Amen" to the prayers streaming from yours.

And as I was thinking about you and me today, the word "through" kept turning over and over in mind. And I thought of Psalm 23:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

I was struck with the thought that "through" is the most important word in that verse.

Through.

He is leading us.

All. The. Way. Through.

Amen.