You're going to be Okay (Coffee for Your Heart)

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to get cozy with your cup of coffee and join me at Coffee for Your Heart. (www.holleygerth.com)
 I sit with my coffee next to me, ready to invite you into my conversation this morning and what i want to share.
   today's topic? You're going to be okay. 

Have you ever felt like the world is crashing around you?
  Or maybe you've felt like there is no hope and nothing will ever be alright again.
Perhaps you're facing a time in your life that is very dark and exhausting right now. It might feel like it'll never end or like you'll never be okay again.
   I want to tell you that You WILL be okay. 
 You will be even better than okay even.
   You might be thinking, "But Rachael, you're not facing what I am. You don't understand."
Or you might be saying "That's easy for you to say. You aren't in my shoes."
 And I would respond by telling you,
 "I know. And I'm not pretending to understand your exact situation. Trust me. I've been down roads where people have tried so hard to relate their life to my life situation when in reality, it had nothing to do with my trials. "
   But friend, let me tell you that I know you will be okay because I used to be the one asking those dark questions. I have been down the road of depression and anxiety and grief and hurt and sin and pain. I know it better than I care to admit. And I have come out on the other side.  Because I have come out on the other side, I can tell you that though I don't know your exact scenario,
 I know that you will be okay. 
   Your tears may fall today, but there will come joy again.  And when it does, that joy will be so beautiful you may not even be able to paint the picture of it.
       You might have anxiety today, but there is a peace that passes all understanding found in the joy of Jesus.
    You might face a rough day and maybe not even make the right choices, but His mercies are new every morning.
   You might feel alone, but you are not.
When I was thinking of how to write on this topic and what I wanted to say, I thought back to the times when I felt like someone telling me I'd be okay didn't seem like enough. Those are hard words to embrace when you feel like the world is bleak around you. But when thinking on it (and seeing myself on the other side now) this one Bible verse kept popping up, and it is what i will close today on. You are going to be okay because
    "I'm absolutely convinced that nothing-nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable- absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." Romans 8:38-39, MSG

      So, finish your coffee and smile today. Because you are going to be okay. I promise.

*For more on this topic, you can check out Holley Gerth's new book You're Going to be Okay (found on Amazon)