Quote from Forum Archives on November 8, 2013, 9:17 am

Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>

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Straight to the Cross

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COLUMN: ENCOURAGING WORDS

Right now
by Paula Harrington
wp.me/p1HIjv-4h2

One of the things I love most about working with my
congregation's bus ministry is meeting and getting to
know kids who haven't, as we would say, grown up in the
church. To see their relationship with God begin and
flourish is a beautiful process. These Bible belt kids
daily deal with adult-sized problems and even in the
midst of that chaos and pain, do it well.

I was praying with one sweet kid recently who was going
through some hard times. He held my hand tightly as he
prayed a heartfelt prayer that rivaled any I've heard
from the lips of the adults I know. While his life was
falling apart around him, he prayed, "Dear Lord, thank
you, just thank you for where I am right now. Because
right now you're here."

Those words have echoed in my mind every day since.
Right now has a lot of stress, heartache, and
frustration, but, with God present, right now also
offers peace, love, and joy. If we will give up our
dilemmas regardless of the hold they have, God will
come in right now and heal our broken hearts. He will
either calm the storms in our life or he will calm us
in the midst of those storms.

Right now is uncertain. Right now has some anxiety.
Right now hurts. But as children of God right now is
manageable, not easy of course, but manageable. Right
now we are not alone. Right now there is love. Right
now, the creator of the Universe is here.

I don't know what you're struggling with but I know
you're struggling. I know you have doubts about your
future and heartaches about your situations, but take a
few seconds and thank God for right now. Because right
now you have hope.

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