It's hard to put into words what this photo today is stirring inside of me.  I guess the best way is to just try.  I started this blog thinking about the right path and how it's hazy to see for most of us .. yada yada.  When, really, this photo stirs something much deeper inside of me.  

    Like many of us, there have been times when I felt like life was almost out of control and all I could do is hold on for dear life; like I was in a hurricane with winds threatening to toss me away at any moment.  The only thing I could do is hold onto that handle I knew was strong and pray.   That's it.  Just pray and hold on because I couldn't control the events around me that were threatening to take everything most dear to me away with no ability to stop them.  

    It was that handle in life that kept me from being thrown to the ground and blown away.  That strong, steady, secure handle that I could hold onto when the clouds gathered and winds blew.  That handle, for me, was the only person I could turn to and the only one who truly knew me and my heart.  That one who was with me through it all.   There was nothing else to hold onto that I knew would protect me.  It was all I had.  

    The irony of it all is that, when I look back, that handle was always there.  That handle of iron strength to overcome the toughest of challenges, losses, and difficulties (even when I was to blame for some of them).  That handle that never left was by my side, and, behind that handle, the door to new life and opportunities.   Yes, behind that handle of strength was a new life and path; one that I couldn't see, but one that I needed to trust to see come to pass. 

    God has plans for us we can't imagine.  When life is tossing us around and we feel like all we can do is hang on may be the best time to find out that His plans are higher than ours and are plans for blessing not evil.  His plans are perfect.  His plans include restoring what's lost in that storm because, when we get through the storm on the other side of that door, there is calm and new opportunities we couldn't imagine.  

    The past eighteen years of my life have been the life on the other side of that door.   God has proven Himself over and over and over again to be my strength and protector when, all I could do, is hold on for dear life!  I want to encourage you today that He is strong enough to take whatever your life is throwing at you.  When those winds blow and you feel like there's no hope, He'll be there to keep you.  Just hold on..!. Hold on and open that door...  He will be waiting for you with arms open wide with a great big loving smile ready to give you comfort, refuge, and strength to make it through.  

I love you friends... 

Brad