We had another amazing prayer meeting on Wednesday morning. Near the end of our time together, we stopped sharing requests and paused to reflect.

Are we burdened and weary? Yes! We have issues...and pain...and sometimes it feels more than we can carry. Does the Lord allow surprises in our lives? Yes....sometimes by the dozens. We struggle with unanswered prayers, futures that are unknown and hopes that are unrealized.

And yet, during the last ten minutes of our prayer time, we stopped to silence the "noise" coming from all of these very real and pressing and unwelcome parts of our lives. Instead, we began to invite God into each one of our painful, uncomfortable places and thanked Him for being in the midst of our trials. We gave thanks for Who He is! We rejoiced that He never changes, is always faithful and that His mercies are new each day.

We left feeling a little lighter and more hopeful. We carried with us a healthy sense of community from lifting one another's cares to the Lord together. We were strengthened and at peace from casting our cares at His feet and allowing ourselves to be enveloped by His arms of safety.

I pray that today's newsletter may bring you to the One strong enough to carry you through your current trials.