Everyday Snippet #26 - A Castle on the Sea

Listen, my friend, for I know you are weary. Life has come like when summer meets fall--when the winds swirl, the rains come and sweep everything away. It's almost as if the Earth itself has swallowed you into a dark shadow. You claw at the dirt, but your grip falters; you jump, but your foot cannot find a ledge; you scream, but your cries echo in the void with no reply. The only noise is a little whisper in the wind that tells you that you will never escape.

I understand you. I, too, know the feeling of fear gnawing on my heart, of doubt serenading my ears like a siren on the tempest-tossed sea. Hope seems like a train at the end of a tunnel: you hear its sound, you see the light, only to see it turn away in another direction. 

Friend, take a breath. Let the fall air caress your skin. Watch the swaying of the trees, the rising and setting of the sun. Recall the goodness of days past, the light in the midst of the blackest night. For I tell you now that none of this goes on without the knowledge of the Lord; no, not one second passes unless He breathes upon it. He is like a castle on the edge of the sea--the waves may beat upon it with all their might, but they cannot bring down such a great fortress.

Your boat is sinking, but have you forgotten your refuge is on the shore? Go, for there is sunlight and beauty in the safety of that castle. Let the warmth of the sun surround you like the arms of a loving Father. Breathe in the clear, pure air.

Do not go back to the despair of the sea. For there, in the safety of that unshakeable fortress, the best is yet to come.