LIFE CHANGING

Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones that You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalms 51: 9-10 (MEV)

Photograph by: Eliot Frick

Written by: Jenny Calvert

My family teased me about skipping around the house singing, “I’m a happy little butterfly!” The thing is, when I was a child, I was as happy as a butterfly. Then I grew up.  Things changed.  For the most part I was still a happy person, however there were times when I was weighed down with burdens. I would feel overwhelmed with specific things going on in my life. Then something happened where I stepped off the cliff into a pool of depression.  When I would hear people say, “It could be much worse.  Look at this person, or that person, with all their troubles,” those words did not help me at all. To be honest,  those words just made me realize how miserable this world could be.

Then I handed over all my ugly debris to God. He picked me up from crawling in the mud of hopelessness and wrapped me in His cocoon of love.  It was there he caused a metamorphic change in my life. He ministered to me.  He gave me thirst quenching water and refreshed my parched soul.  He fed me from His table of food, the word of God, and renewed my strength. He gave me peace and comfort and released my imprisoned spirit. He freed my mind of negativity and instilled within me a new purpose with hope and life. He dried all my tears and replaced it with a smile.  I emerged from that cocoon changed and beautiful, as that happy little butterfly that I had been as a child. I had shed the servile dependence from my weighted self to  freeing wings of His liberty.

Because I have been through this, I have confidence that if I should step off that cliff again, God will be there with His transforming power that is available again and again.  There is no limit to His mercies that He shows to us each and every day.

Dearest Heavenly One,

I actually thank you for allowing me to go through that depressing time in my life.  It was there that I released my burdens to You. Because of my experience, I can lead people going through depression to Your heavenly light at the end of that very dark tunnel.  You are waiting for us to cast all our cares upon You.  You are wanting to renew our minds.  Thank you for providing a way out. Help others going through difficult times.

In Christ Name,

Amen