When God is Still Good

Sometimes days are beautiful.

Like yesterday.  That warm sunshine curled around my loose hair, and we laughed and worked together in the barnyard.  A stranger smiled at me, but his eyes told something deeper - that he smiled because he had Love in him.

I wrote letters.  They said, "thank you" and "I love you" because it was true.  And with cursive on paper, I slipped them away with a stamp so they could fly away to a new home.

And hugs.  Those fierce hugs that mean so much.  The gift in a hand of a friend.  Eyes that smile as much as lips do.

As the day closed, night came.  That trickle of darkness that stained the day.  And I was there, in the middle of my family, laughing, eating, rejoicing in the little things that make life fun.

We slept or at least tried to.  With so many people in the same room, we laughed and talked and said goodnight a dozen times.  And then there's that third bathroom break and "can I get a sip of water pleeease?"

Eventually we slept.

And always, I thought the same thing:  God. Is. Good.

He is good.  Even when days aren't beautiful.

Or maybe every day is beautiful, we just don't see the beauty.  'Cause some days are hard.  I woke up today, my stomach curling like a fist.  When I stood, it lurched, and last night's dinner wanted to escape.

So I missed the group of friends, the plans we had.  With every smell of food, I wanted to run and hide and curl up and sleep without getting sick.

Yesterday, God was good.  It was easy to say.  But today, if things don't go as planned, the rain comes, the lightning hits, I want to still whisper in the storm:

God is good.  Today He is.  And tomorrow He still will be.

When water pours from the skies, I want to let it drizzle down my face and still see through it.  I want to blink from the drops, always knowing that the sun will come.  And when tears replace rain, I want to cry, knowing that He holds my hand.  He hears my prayers.

When the clouds are thick, I want to search for a rainbow.  I want to draw a picture, remember what lies behind the storms.  Even if that means a whispered plea of, "help me."

God is good, and He will still be good tomorrow.

Yesterday was a good day.  Today was too.  God changed my plans, but He gave me different ones that were exactly what I needed.

And He has a plan for you.  It's perfect, but that doesn't mean it's always easy or clean or pretty at all to look at.  Yet in the end, your story will be good because He is.

It's okay to cry.  It's okay to struggle and be sick and wonder what the purpose is.  But in everything, we can have joy because of the truth:

God is still good.

So remember.  He will always hold your hand.  In sunshine and rain.

No matter what tomorrow brings, we can choose to rejoice.  

Dear friend, what's going on in life?

This post ended up feeling like poetry, and I wish life was always like that (think roses and flourishes and fancy words).  That'd be lovely.  But either way, in the end, He is good.

Yet if it doesn't feel like it, know that He is there.  Always.  You're never alone.

Happiness comes and goes like the sunshine, but Joy doesn't.  We rejoice in the Lord.  He is constant, faithful, with us.  So never give up, friend.

Some days are beautiful, and some days aren't.  But still, praise Him.

God is good, and He will be good tomorrow.

That's a promise.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

- Romans 8:28

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

- 1 Corinthians 1:9 

~♥~