MIXED EMOTIONS

Man, Extreme Home Makeover ALWAYS gets me! 5 minutes into the show last night, I was crying like a baby. And I didn't stop for 4 hours. Ok, so there must be something else going on besides just a sappy TV show making me cry. As I analyzed why the waterworks weren't stopping (I really must stop analyzing so much), I realized there are a lot of reasons. They all led me to the same place for hope: the Bible. Some think the Bible is not the inspired Word of God. Others think parts of it are. Still others say that it is the inspired Word of God, but pick and choose what concepts to believe in. I don't know where I fall in that mix, but I do know it comforts me when I'm down. Here are some of the passages I found comfort in last night. Some are favorites; some I discovered for the first time last night. That's another beautiful aspect of the Bible: the truths aren't new, but sometimes you discover them for the "first time."

• Zephaniah 3:17-The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
• Psalm 34:18 (an old fave)-The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
• And perhaps the one that encouraged me the most-Zephaniah 3:20-At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home.

This last verse is the most encouraging to me, and yet it will rub some the wrong way. I've heard it said that heaven is here on earth and that when we "hope for heaven", we merely exist on this planet. That can lead to an "Eeyore" mentality. But for me, it lets me know that there is more to this life than what our eyes behold and our bodies take in. There is more to life than trying to have a baby. There is more to life than trying to lose weight. There is more to life than finding job satisfaction. There is more to life than __________ (fill in the blank). And because there is more to life, I will rejoice. Heaven is my home. Heaven is my hope. I will hope in the One with whom I will finally be at peace. And until He gathers me, I will rejoice.

• Habakkuk 3:17-18-Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.