Someone else's shoes

Last night, we had the privilege of sharing a meal with a special couple that has been where we are walking. They went through 22 months of unemployment not too long ago. It's always encouraging to get together with them. They can sympathize with where we are, know the affects on a marriage, and know the daily struggles. They can think back to how they were feeling at each month's anniversary of the job loss, where as people that have been out of work for less than a year cannot.

I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I am so thankful that God allowed them to walk this road a few years before we would. I am so thankful that God has placed them in our lives to come along side of us and be an encouragement.

While our husbands were chatting in their living room, we snuck away into another room and shut the door and "got real". We were in there for over an hour just sharing our stories and our hearts with eachother. She shared this piece of scripture with me:


1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;
2 hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3 at the voice of the enemy,
at the stares of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering upon me
and revile me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death assail me.

5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest-

7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;
Selah

8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm."

~Psalm 55:1-8

She wasn't done there. She told me that it would be great to just wallow in our sorrows but in the very same chapter, you don't have to go far to find this:

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

23 But you, O God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of corruption;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.

~Psalm 55:22-23

This past year has been a roller coaster ride. Many, many times I have wanted the ride to stop so I can get off. Today I am thanking God for the answered prayers and a friend that leaves me feeling not so lonely. I am thankful for God's promise to me that He will sustain me and never let me fall.