I'm Here

First of all thank you to all of you who encouraged me to begin writing Elevate again! I intend to share my thoughts towards the end of each week in this space again starting today. Right before Christmas I had to undergo eye surgery. The post-operative recovery plan called for me to have to keep my head in a certain position for a few days while my eye healed.

I thought I would go crazy. It felt like the longest days of my life. I just felt miserably uncomfortable all the time.

Finally one night when it just seemed like sleep would be impossible, I crawled out of bed and just sat in a chair in the corner of our bedroom, waiting for morning to come.

I found myself praying under my breath for relief . I moaned and expressed my frustration and weariness. And in the quiet that is the middle of the night, I felt all alone.

After awhile I got quiet again and just sat there. Too tired to think, too uncomfortable to sleep, and too afraid to make any noise, I just sat.

That's when it happened.

A sense of peace just enveloped me as I sensed God whispering, "I'm here."

No promise of relief, no assurances of change, and no healing from my circumstances.

Just a gentle reminder of his presence. Just a simple declaration from the voice who spoke the stars into existence.

"I'm here."

That was enough. Just to know I wasn't alone, just to know He was walking through it with me-- that was all I needed to know to find peace.

It reminded me so much of my interaction with Jon Alex.

Because he is non-verbal he can't tell us when something is wrong. So if he gets upset at night, all he can do is cry for us to hear him.

Because he's my son, I race to his side and as soon as I'm there, I declare "Dad's here..I'm here Jon Alex."

And even though he only hears "I'm here," what he really hears is, "Dad's here now, I will protect you, comfort you, guard you, and watch over you, and love you. You don't have to be afraid." Because that's what those simple words really imply and mean.

So go ahead.

Whatever is robbing your peace, whatever is stealing your joy, whatever is threatening to overwhelm you, close your eyes and listen for the voice of God to simply declare, "I'm here."