trials

I’m grateful for the knot that keeps me steady…

A couple of months after my children, husband and I built our fort last summer, we decided to go back to that spot and see if the fort was still there.  As it came into sight from our position in the road, we were pleased to see that the fort was still in place. When we walked over to it, we noticed that although it was still standing, with the roof overhead, we could see that one side of the roof had started to cave in.  It’s as if it had started to collapse, then suddenly stopped and remained steady.  On examining what may have caused the roof to still remain, we noticed that one of the main poles we had used for support of the roof had cracked and broken until it reached the end where a knot in the wood kept it from breaking all the way.  This knot allowed the pole to continue to bear the weight of all the other poles that it was supporting.  Although it had been strained, it remained firm because of that knot.

I realized that I, too, have a knot that holds me up when the weight of so many things are pressing down upon me.  It is the thing that allows me to continue to bear my burdens, even when they seem to be heavy enough to push me down.  For me, that knot is my faith in Jesus Christ.  He holds me up when I’m pretty sure I can’t go on.  He strengthens me and carries me in those moments when the load is too heavy for me to carry alone.

With all the weight that you have upon you through your own trials, I hope that you have a knot that can hold everything together for you.  I hope that you can find strength through this knot, to carry on when you otherwise feel that you are going to break.  If you haven’t found your “knot” yet, I hope that you will be able to do this, so that you too can have the strength to remain steady when the weight becomes too hard for you to bear alone.