Who Doesn’t Know What She Feels

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

WHEN MARK AND I HAD LITTLE ONES, our house was way out on the northwest edge of Oklahoma City. A small four-lane highway—two lanes coming in and out of town—took us from the city to our home. One morning close to Christmas, I had gone into town to shop at the grocery store. Afterward, I headed west and pulled up to the last stop sign before the road turned into the highway that would take me all the way home. A big flatbed semitrailer filled with Christmas trees was stopped just in front of me. The wonderful piney aroma filled my car, and I smiled as I remembered my favorite Christmas memories. But did I mention I was in a hurry?

I quickly moved to the other lane, only to realize that I was now behind another truck. This one was filled with cattle going to the stockyards. It was stinky and blew stuff on my windshield. Both trucks going west on the same road at the same speed were slowing down my drive home. But I had a choice. I could drive in the Christmas tree lane and inhale a refreshing, woodsy scent, or I could drive in the cattle car lane with the barnyard smell of livestock. There was no passing both trucks. The truth is, no matter the lane I chose to drive in, my experience down the highway that day was impacted by both of them.

Momma, isn’t that what life is like sometimes? As we travel through life, we experience a little bit of both. The “aroma” of our day is mixed up as we experience joy and sorrow, happiness and grief, and pleasant memories with current pain. What will we focus on? What lane do we want to align with as we journey forward?

The Lord understands it all. He is with you through every moment of every hard day and every hard night. You can trust in Him. As the Scripture says, “the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” Even when you don’t know what you feel, let’s ask the Lord to help us follow His goodness.

Tonight we pray for the momma who doesn’t really know what she feels. She has been through so much. There are things going on outside of her home, but there is so much happening within her family as well. She is grateful, but she is walking the line between hope and discouragement, joy and pain, peace and frustration. Tonight we ask You to settle her heart. Bring days of peace with the promise of hope. When the sun comes up tomorrow, please give her fresh joy and assurance that it’s going to be okay. Help her believe it.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Father, please help me sort through this mix of emotions tonight so that I may see your new mercies tomorrow: