GO SINGING

"My times are in your hands." Psalms 31:35a

      So many mornings since my husband went home to be with the Lord, I wake up depressed and wonder how long I must hang around this earth, which is really a longing to go to heaven where there is no more loneliness, sickness, or despair. I know there are many things I can do to dispel these feelings, but it seems so difficult to press on.  One bleak day follows another and self-pity takes over.

      Reading in the devotional, Streams in the Desert, I was touched by this poem written by Annie Johnson Flint:

          The little birds trust God, for they go singing
              From northern woods where autumn winds have blown.
          With joyous faith their trackless pathway winging
              To summer-lands of song afar, unknown.
          Let us go singing, then, and not go singhing:
              Since we are sure our times are in his Hand,
          Why should we weep, and fear, and call it dying?
              'Tis only flitting to a Summer-land.'

      So, what is the answer to my feelings of despair?  I must look beyond my circumstances and see what I can do lift someone else out of despair and loneliness.  The Bible is full of encouraging Scriptures.  I must read them over and over until they get down into my heart.  Then I can face each day with hopeful heart, and know that God cares about me.  I have found in past experiences that, as I reach out to another hurting person, God fills my heart with joy.

      With God's help I will go forth singing, and not complaining, and trust that my times are in God's hand.