Never Alone

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)”
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No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.(Joshua 1:5)"

"...be content with what you have, because God has said; “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?(Hebrews 13:5)

When I was in my teens, probably throughout my childhood, although it was those angst ridden teen years that underscored it, I was a bit of a geeky misfit. I was never an athlete, never part of the "cool" crowd. I had my own circle of friends, for sure, but even among these, as I have said in earlier posts, I never quite felt like I fit. I learned to embrace it, and as an adult sometimes wonder if I wasn't , even then, called to a life apart. One of the most painful memories of this time was going downtown with a group of girlfriends on our lunch hour. We we go into a store, and when I stopped to look at something the others would leave me behind. I suppose they thought it was funny. For the most part I don't think about those days, but when I examine my biggest relationship fears I find I can see a common thread, being abandoned by the companions I chose for myself.
As much as I enjoy being alone, and I embrace my single life, there are times I struggle with my solitude. I admit I long to have someone hold me again, to feel safe, loved, protected. Having been twice abandoned by the men I chose (one to another woman, one to his addictions) I know I can not seek this security in the arms of a man. It is on Jesus alone I can rely, and His promise to never leave me.
Today is Easter Saturday, the day we mark the dark hours between Jesus' death on the cross and the glorious empty tomb of Easter Sunday. We know, with the wisdom of history that Good Friday was not the end of the story, but for the disciples they must have had hearts filled with what they saw now as broken promise and lost dreams. The king they sought, followed, believed in, pinned their hopes and dreams on was gone. Cruelly beaten and executed, hastily buried in a borrowed grave. Through that long Saturday how they must have grieved! We have all stood over fresh graves, court stamped divorce papers, pink slips, rejection notices, behind slammed doors, angry words echoing in our ears. But the dream is not dead, friend. That dark Saturday the dream was being transformed-hold on to Sunday-we have not been abandoned at all!
Happy and Blessed Easter all. Take comfort, rejoice in the Empty Tomb and the promise in it.