SALT Challenge - God's Strength

This week it was Julie's turn to set the SALT challenge and she chose God's strength, based on 2 Corinthians 12:9, ""My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." You can read her entire (excellent) write up on the SALT blog. Julie mentioned in your write up that lately she knows of many that are going through various trials and I can sympathize with her as I've been experiencing the same thing. A good friend just lost her husband of 36 years, our neighbor is suddenly quite ill, friends are facing various trials, and just this week a blog family I follow lost their 10 month old daughter. How does one keep going in the face of such huge obstacles and heartache? The answer is simple, although difficult at times to rely on. As I've thought about this topic over the last week I've been struck by how often I fail to rely on the source of true strength - Jesus Christ. Sure there are days that go wonderfully, where everything falls into place and life seems perfect but that doesn't happen very often and I fear that sometimes those days further foster the false idea that "I can handle it." Sometimes God brings trials into our lives to remind us of our weakness, as He did to Paul in 2 Corinthians, and to cause us to rely soley on Him. It is in our weakness that we see His strength and we are made strong. I am reminded of the Footprints in the Sand poem by Mary Stevenson. In the poem the author asks God why, in the darkest times in her life, there were only one set of footprints when in other times of her life there were two (hers and Gods). The author assumes that in her deepest trials she was alone. The Lord's response, "the times when you saw only one set of footprints in the sand is when I carried you." How truly comforting is that image, the idea causes me to breathe a huge sigh of relief..."Oh, I don't have to handle it all on my own!" If we would but remember to rest in Christ, trust in His great providence, and know that He will never leave or forsake His children. Please stop by the SALT blog to see all of the beautiful creations posted by the design team. And I pray that you would have a blessed day and be reminded that God's grace is sufficient... Card details: Stamps - Unity Stamp Company Paper - Stampin' Up! Embellishments - Stampin' Up! Ribbon - Stampin' Up! Button - Papertreyink