ann kiemel

no matter where

you are tonight...

or your children.

no matter

how

hopeless you feel.

how alone.

how narrow the road looks.

how closed in the walls feel.

how low the clouds.

how short you are on

rent. how ill the one

you love is.

or...

maybe

you just found out

someone molested your

child. or made fun of one

at school. or even did harm.

just regardless.

neglected or abused or

betrayed or misread in some

crazy, bizarre way.

remember.

Jesus reigns.

He's alive. risen. the Redeemer.

Deliverer. the true Comforter.

and...

we have to run the Race.

face the horrors and live with

the fears. crawl out of the safety

and warmth of the bedcovers

where pain cannot touch us...and into

the raw, cold realities.

BUT...

".....we KNOW that ALL things

work together for good to those

who love God..."  romans

"trust in the Lord with All thine

heart, and lean not on thine own

understanding; in ALL thy ways

acknowledge Him, and He WILL

direct thy paths."   proverbs

"a bruised reed He will NOT

break..."

our heads hang down

and our bones break

and death sometimes seems

so much easier than the

option of life.

alcohol and drugs and food

and sex and pills and many

more vices lure us. numb us.

i know.

i understand.

i've lived long enough

to see and experience much

of this. but let's do our best

to encircle our loved ones..and

those we've never met before.

and cling to the ROCK that

is higher than we are.

and the cool waters

of His love can kiss the wounds.

run River run.  keep us whole

until the Race is finally over.

our burdens dropped outside

the Gate. and we dance on

streets of gold and sing

with the choirs. with all

those who overcame...

by the Blood of the Lamb..

and the Word of our testimony.

"the Power greater than

ourselves..."