It is easy to lose hope when we read about the California fires and the untold pain, but as I learned from my journey God is always there for us.

                                   

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

It seems daunting to ever visualize our Lord refreshing our soul when the fires are burning out of control in California when clean-up continues in the hurricane-damaged areas, or survivors are trying to recover from mass shootings responsible for killing their loved ones. Yet, I have learned as someone who has been through the storm of losing a child that our God does indeed replenish our souls.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

With all that is happening around me, it doesn't seem I will ever find peace and solace. As a young lad growing up in the 60's I remember watching the grown-ups in my life crumbling with the news of President Kennedy's assassination, fretting for their children when they were sent to Viet Nam to fight a war they didn't believe in or fretting still as gas prices made its way above the one dollar mark with many people threatening to forever park their cars. Yet, my God comforted me and planted me beside still waters where my soul could forever be replenished.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows.6 

Surely your goodness and love will follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 

forever

When I was 18 I made the conscious decision to open the door of my heart and allow the Lord to come inside to restore my 'hopeless' soul and replace it with a forever peace that no matter what happens to me my Lord is beside me- even in the face of the unspeakable pain of losing a child, my Lord was right there beside me every step of the way.

Yeh, where there are hopelessness and untold suffering our Lord is my shepherd guiding me through the Valley of the shadow of death. He gives me a new purpose for living and a new hope with a refreshing optimism that others around me need and want to have.

As we accumulate those scars along the way of our travel in this life, our Lord will present opportunities to help others to find this hope they see permeating in your life. Just as Paul writes in Philippians 1,

  "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

My shepherd has reminded me through the red letters of my Bible that he knows the final outcome and we will be satisfied with it.

 Our goal is to keep on living and keep on putting one foot in front of the other and worship each week the Creator of this universe and trust God that He knows what to do with our pain.

And that is REALLY good news!