By Jessica Brodie

Have you ever walked on soggy sand at the beach? You set your foot down, expecting to stand upright, but the sand sinks ever-deeper with your weight, sagging into a little hole as the water rushes around your ankles. You fight to keep your balance, but the sand feels unstable. You’re not exactly sure where to walk.

At the beach, that’s usually not a problem. You can either jump in and get wet, continue walking unsteadily, or head to drier, firmer sand, where you can walk with confidence.

But in life, sometimes we find ourselves walking on sinking sand we can’t seem to escape. It becomes like quicksand—dragging you down, not wanting to let go.

Sometimes this transition to “sinking sand” happens quite suddenly. You’re walking along in life, thinking everything is just fine. Then, bam! A loved one dies unexpectedly. You receive a frightening health diagnosis. Maybe you lose your job or find yourself in a financial or legal crisis. Maybe your spouse leaves, or a child becomes a prodigal, getting involved with drugs or lifestyle choices that are nowhere near what you had hoped for them.

It’s scary. All of a sudden that firm foundation—that regular, normal, everyday life you were counting on—is nothing like what you expected. You find yourself wondering what else in life can change on a dime. You start to realize that, in fact, everything in life is tenuous and shaky, that you’re actually not in control of anything. Perhaps you can barely find your footing.

So what do you do? Do you tuck in and hide until things feel more stable again? Do you do your best to become a control freak, micromanaging what is in your power? Or do you just walk the best you can, realizing perhaps solid footing is just an illusion?

I have learned over the years that God is the only one who makes my path straight and my foundation secure. When I’m not walking with him, I veer off track, or I sink. Or perhaps even worse, I think all the gains and strides I’m making are my own doing.

But when I walk with the Lord, I can trust my footsteps are planned and ordained. I can trust that when I’m walking in his will and his purpose, I don’t have to worry about whether things are going to go wrong. I know that if they do wrong—and yes, they do, even for those of us who belong to the Lord!—I’m still safe and protected. If I sink or I stumble, God is right there with me, and I’m not lost. I’m only having a setback in this world, and I’m not going through it alone.

God‘s plan for my eternity is bigger than what I’m going through right now. Even if what I am experiencing is horrible, and even if it looks like I won’t survive it, I have a hope that is bigger than today. It’s bigger than the shifting sand beneath my feet.

We go through difficult things in this life. Sometimes they catch us off guard, and maybe we think we don’t deserve them, or that they shouldn’t happen to us because we are good people or kind or Christian. God doesn’t cause those bad things. But he does work them out for his good and glory, and we can trust that he walks with us in in the bad and the scary circumstances.

So the next time you’re at the beach and you stumble in the soft sand, remember that God is right there with you. And even if the sand seems like it’ll carry you away, you’re safe in the Father’s arms. No matter what.

Have you read my newest novel, Tangled Roots? I hope you’ll head over to Amazon today. It’s available as an ebook, paperback, and audiobook. While it’s book two in the Dahlia series, you don’t need to have read book one, The Memory Garden, for it to make sense; it stands on its own. (But I’d love if you’d read both!)

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I’m trying to reach more than 200 Amazon reviews for The Memory Garden and 100 Amazon reviews for Tangled Roots! The more reviews they have, the more likely the algorithm will help reach other readers/book buyers. If you’ve read either, would you help me? I’d be truly grateful. You can review The Memory Garden here and Tangled Roots here.

Thanks to my Patreon sponsors: Matt Brodie, Emily Dodd, Jane, Marcia Hatcher, Frances Nwobi, Kathleen Patella, Billy Robinson, Yancy Rose, and Lanny Turner.

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