This blog was so graciously written by Niki Kredit, a long time volunteer and friend of Katelyn’s Fund!
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I have heard it said that we are either in a hard season, we are coming out of a hard season or there isone coming soon…..that may sound rather gloomy but actually I don’t think it is. I think it is a great leveling ground for life. I can’t say “why me?” when times are hard, as much as I should not say “why not me?” when something good is happening for someone else. We will all go through seasons that are harder or less hard or amazing or confusing and no one gets a pass on any of them. Christian and non-Christians go through all the same seasons but one of the great parts of being a Christian is that we can be going through a dark valley, a hard season, a really bad situation….but we are not going to travel alone. God tells us in Psalm 23:4 that He is with us and has the tools ready to help get us through it…..and those tools do not just navigate the path, but they comfort.
Comfort and compassion are interesting sensations because neither one fixes or relieves or erases a hard season……but we manage to get to the other side of things better when we feel comforted and held. God does that. He doesn’t say there will not be hard times. It is so important that we grow up to believe that we can do hard things but we should never feel like we need to do them alone. My foster daughter fell last night and split open her lip. I tried the home first aid methods but this morning knew that they were not going to be enough for her to heal properly so off we went to urgent care instead of to church. She was so scared, fearing all of the evil and remembering some of the hurt inher past….but I acted as the one with a rod and staff to guide her along. We couldn’t wave a magic wand and reverse time to before the fall, or magically heal her with a kiss and a hug. We needed to travel along the path….first urgent care, then ER to see the doctor with the suture kit, and ultimately resolve the injury with a stitch. She was really scared and I held her, comforted her and reminded her that she can do hard things. She can do hard things but she does not have to do them alone. When the doctor was finished she got down from the procedure table and crawled into my lap making her long-ish legs very small and curled up into a very little ball so that I could comfort her. Not just her face or her
nervous heart but her whole self.
She had to face some demons when she walked through the doors to the ER, some memories of being there before and of her first parents……and it was my job to help her fear no evil as we came in on a different day with different circumstances for a different injury…..I told her she could be scared and she could cry and it would be ok but I would keep her safe and she would be better when it was all done. Evil is real…..and it is scary…..but it is also within our ability to decide to fear no evil….and remember that God is with us when we ask Him to be, when we trust that He is….and evil cannot share the same space that God dwells. It just can’t stay in the presence of Almighty, Powerful, Loving and Perfect God. As we journey onward, through the dark valleys and the mountain tops and the level ground and the storms and the celebrations, in and out of all the seasons over and over and over again, may we find comfort knowing that even though we may face hard things, we can do hard things because He is with us, with His rod and his staff and his comfort and his goodness. She knows what this verse means today and hopefully anyone reading can also find their season less heavy in the Presence of the Lord.
