Remembering

"Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
O my God, my soul is in despair within me;
Therefore I remember Thee...
from the land of Jordan,
And the peaks of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar..."
--Psalms 42:5-6

It is a good thing to remember God's faithfulness in the past.  Yes, at all times, praise should not be far from our lips, but it is precisely in the struggles of this life,  that we are wise to turn our thoughts to remembering God's sure presence in days past.

It is something I have been doing this past week. 

As dark clouds continue to cast a deep shadow over my emotional health, I am in need of remembering.  Randomly, I picked out a journal from several years ago, and have paged through it, reading and recalling the seasons of "spring" and "winter", that were a part of my life then. 

God was present then.

He continues to be my "very present help in times of trouble".  God has not been absent these past weeks, but I still need the reminding, because in this I am encouraged. 

Some remembrances:

 October 5, 2008
"Lord I trust You even when I'm hurting...
And I don't understand this path that lays before me,
but I will take Your hand anyway."
--Adam Padfield
  "Trust"

December 18, 2008  (The following excerpts are from when Brian had his heart attack/surgery)
"The places where life is unsatisfactory or incomplete or lacking--that's where we have room to grow.  What we lack, what we yearn for, can fire our imaginations, motivate our actions, strengthen our faith--and those are all good gifts."
--Thomas Kinkade
"Christ the Light of the World"

December 23, 2008
"I don't know the mind of God, and I don't fully understand the reasons for darkness in our lives--but I know that His vision for my life and for the world is for light, not darkness."
--Thomas Kinkade
"Christ the Light of The World"

"I will bring praise
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice,
I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here.

All of my life, in every season,
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing,
I have a reason to worship."
--Hillsong United

December 26, 2008
"The truth is, no matter how grown-up we become, we all need night-lights.
We all need a little bit of light to keep the darkness from closing in, because no matter what our age, fear isn't rational--fear simply is...O God...quiet the fears that distract me from living the fullness of this moment.  Create in me a grateful heart, and let me know the reassurance of Your presence.  In daring to call You Father, I am living the assurance that You have called me by my name."
--Thomas Kinkade  

And so I continue remembering.