"Against All Odds"

 "There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail." (Ecclesiastes 4:8 KJV)

  ""The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD'S name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love."" (Isaiah 55:10-13 NLT)

 First of all, there are none of us that are living in Christ, that live alone; if He isn't walking alone side you, then He is carrying you through something, because He will never leave you, nor forsake you; you have His word in that! Secondly, although it might seem to some that I have a very lonely life, my wife is still very much alive; and even though she may not be fully functional, she still feels my touch and hears my voice; and her gaze is upon me when I am ready God's word to her. 

 With that, I must confess: Both of those truths are a constant battle to feel secure in, day after day! Yes, there are days when I feel that the Lord is not there, as if He has left me alone to fight my own war; mostly because it is my own fault for having created the mess I might be dealing with. Sometimes, I might think that there might be some sin I have, that could cause Him to stand away, waiting for me to make that choice, between Him and the sin. 

 Whatever the situation or the problem, if you belong to the family of God, God is for you, will always be working out your battles, making you into a vessel to be a testimony of His power and love! You might not like what you must go through, but everything works towards the good, no matter how hard it might hurt, or how bad it might make you feel, you will always be better for it. 

 As for my companionship with my wife: I have got to admit, there are some days when it stings hard against my heart! Not because of what I don't have, but because what we both have is not what we had planned for. We had always imagined ourselves walking along the beach, living out our twilight years, living by the ocean and admiring God's beautiful sunsets. 

 That was what we had hoped for, but it is still something I hold out for, longing for it to still happen! We made a vow, "To have and to hold, till death do us part," as of yet, we are not apart...

"I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever." (PSALM 121 NLT)