Because God is With Us

 Because God is With Us

Once again, the morning arrived with new mercies. God took his pointer finger and swirled the colors in the sky for us to see. “Slow down and stay awhile” is something I think He whispers to us. “I’m with you” is something I know He says. It’s as if God understands the day is about to groan loud. Sides shout, fingers point. To-do lists pile up and grocery prices rise. Someone says something awful about another, and someone else says something even worse. Division works every angle to pull us apart. Lies are told, truth is wrestled. Noise fills our ears, weight rests on our chest. Anger finds and fills our veins, while hope fights back. Hope is good at fighting back - even these days. Anxiety sneaks in. Especially these days. We wonder if everything will be okay. We forget God tells us everything will be okay. We forget what we want to remember and remember what we’ve been trying to forget. Distraction and destruction demand our attention, and before we know it, we’ve wasted another day staring at screens. You question almost everything, but God never questions if He loves you. He does. So, we hold fast and continue to bless those who curse us and pray for those who hurt us. We continue to confess our shortcomings and ask God for forgiveness. We continue to turn our hands up and show the world that all we have is who created us. We endure with mercy, hope, and love. We try to put our phones down and look up to see the colors God has swirled in the sky. We try to remember that we can slow down and stay awhile with the One who is with us. Because God is with us.

Tanner Olson