When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’ve got a friend.
This is one of my favorite James Taylor songs. (Carole King sings a good version of it too, if you’re interested.) This song encompasses a lot of stuff that’s been on my mind lately. The next 7 days are going to be pretty difficult for me. Not only is my schedule going to be pretty much grueling working both days and nights at two jobs but I have an appointment to get 4 cavities filled and have to euthanize my 6 year old cat due to health problems.
I’m sad and it will be hard and I’m sure I’ll probably break down and cry a couple of times or more. But I’ll be ok because I’ve got a Friend. I feel like God sings this song to us all the time. Saying to us constantly, “I’m here. Just call my name!”
Not only that but thankfully my family’s annual get-together will be at the end of this 7-Day hell. So I have that to look forward to. Some people would think 20 people (all mostly their family) crammed into 1 cabin on the side of a mountain would be hell. Not me. I’m looking forward to this much needed vacation and family time.
But I think that’s how we have to take the struggles in this life. When we’re in the midst of our own “hell” and everything seems to be crashing down to just look forward. Even if you don’t have a family vacation coming up or you don’t see an end in sight – you can look to the heavens and think about your eternity. I think it’s an interesting way of looking a Phillippians 3:12-14. Pressing toward a goal – Heaven and eternal basking in God’s great Presence – and putting behind all this suffering. We all have to suffer because of sin and sometimes to help purify ourselves but we can look forward to a time when all the suffering will stop.
By Reader