The words in that photo, they instantly took me back….

To a Methodist church on Main Street in the map dot town of Lucedale, Mississippi, where my first memories of life, and church, originate.

In Sunday school as a small child, I learned the song “Jesus Loves Me”, with the lyrics…”I am weak, but He is strong”. We all learned that one, right?

I grew up and left that small town. I moved off, got strong…worldly strong…and pretty much forgot about Jesus. Because, well, I was strong, and life was easy, and I clearly “got this” on my own.

It is God who calms the storms to a whisper.¹

Then the storms came, and they kept coming. And instead of being able to ride them out under the care of others, I was now the captain in charge of the ship.

It took a couple of decades, but I eventually learned that I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was.

Let’s be honest about it. Storms can be scary, storms can wear you down, life can be tough, life can get heavy…even for the strong.

In time I realized maybe I wasn’t so strong, and maybe I don’t “got this”, and maybe…just maybe…I was never supposed to navigate or carry all “this” by myself.

Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge.²

So, at 45 years old, the kid from Lucedale stopped trying, and asked God for help. Thankfully God doesn’t hold grudges, and He let me in the boat.

Here is the thing. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t have storms, and life won’t get heavy. It just means you aren’t doing stormy and heavy all alone, and it is far less scary that way. Read that twice.

Sometimes we just need a simple reminder that “we are weak, but He is strong”.

Those words reminded me of all that before daylight one morning, and I’m just passing them along in case, like me, you need reminding, too.

Get In The Boat. Do Your Part.

From Nose to Toes!

Shane /#16

 

Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at www.the1sixproject.com.

 

Footnotes: (1) Read Psalm 107:26-29. (2) Read Psalm 16:1-2. (Last Photo) Read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

Pictures: Banner Shot: Photo by Shane Hale from Daily Guideposts 2020, devotional for February 6, 2020. (1) First United Methodist Church of Lucedale, Mississippi (2) Flickr Creative Commons; (3) composite image by AWidowsMight.org.