09/04/2026
All of this.
๐โค๏ธโ๐ฉน
My little store has had a pretty rough year. It's barely functioning. Not because we don't have enough products or a significant desire to push thru or the knowledge that God truly does have good somewhere in the storm, but because life keeps hitting back and wearing down.
We now have water damage where our products and furniture have been stored since we were forced into shutdown mode. Another emergency need to clean out to clean up.
And today, we were rejected from yet another maker market because, although our products are quite literally handmade (even signed sometimes), I do not personally make them. Rejected over and over again for this reason.
How do you explain that to the humans who do create the beautiful products as a way to get out of their own horrible life situations like trafficking and homelessness and addiction and severe poverty? Their handmade goods aren't handmade enough because they don't live in Pittsburgh and I sell them on their behalf?
There is good. There is light. There is hope. But some days, that's a little harder to find.
Sometimes we want God to explain the storm.
We want Him to tell us why it happened,
when it will end, and what will happen next.
But when God says, โDo not be afraid,โ
He doesnโt always give us an explanation.
He gives us a promise:
โ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐.โ
And that changes everything.
Because sometimes what we desperately want from God is an explanation, while what He knows we need most is His presence.
We want to know what will happen.
He reminds us that He is already there.
We want the storm to disappear.
He promises to stay with us through it.
We want certainty about tomorrow.
He reminds us that He already holds tomorrow.
๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ.
The waters may still rise.
The fire may still burn.
The valley may still be dark.
The wilderness may still stretch ahead.
The waiting may still be long.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
The greatest gift God gives us is not a life without trouble. It is the assurance that whatever we face, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐.
You may not know how this ends,
but you can know Who is with you through it.
