When I’m Down, I Look Up.

When life’s burdens bend you down so that you only see the ground, lift your head up high and see how marvelous is the sky.

Today I got a letter of thanks from a nephew for the “remote support and advice”. He was living in another country. Months ago, he was in the midst of a very distressing situation. It was so bad he wanted to walk away from it all. Now, things have worked out for the better. But during the crisis, saying things would work out in the end would have seemed to me very callous and totally not empathetic to what he was going through. Often, we just have to muddle through the mud and slosh through the slime to get to dry land. We have to shed the tears to wash away the pain and its sources. All I could offer him was my presence and availability, and some options.

When I am bent down by problems and life’s burdens, I see only the ground: black, dirty, messy and complicated. All I have to do is look to see the sky: blue, clean, orderly and full of life and promise. When I am down, I see only the debris and the detritus, the rot, around my feet. And then I look up and I see new life blooming among the branches: new twigs sprouting, new leaves blossoming, and occasionally, some nestlings.

When I am down, I often forget what a precious life I have been blessed with. All I have to do is to look up in prayer, strain to hear the voice and presence that says: “Do not weep.” to realize what immense value I have within me: God’s gift of life.

As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Luke 7:11-17