The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.                                                                                                            Numbers 6:24-26

Have you ever been to a meeting where you know some of the people there don’t like you or wish you weren’t there? Or maybe they feel like you are the reason something has changed in their lives, and they are angry with you? So, what do you do? Well, I put on my best friendly face, and say hello to everyone like I do every day and if I receive not so nice looks in return, it’s okay because I’ve done the right thing.

However, some days are harder than others. Recently, I had “one of those days” and I was caught completely off guard by a dear friend – a new friend. I walked in looking confident much like the duck swimming on the lake – you know all calm and graceful on the top but paddling like crazy under the water.

“I’ve missed you!” And she gave me a great big hug. I smiled. Whew, what a relief. It was going to be all right. If I stayed close to her, I was going to be all right. I made it through that meeting even though all the regular chairs were full, and I couldn’t sit with my friend. That great big hug had bolstered my spirit enough to get me through the meeting.

Afterwards my friend and I visited as we walked through the parking lot. She could tell I was struggling with something. She listened as I shared what was going on and I felt more peaceful. Our life journeys have been different, and we are not of the same generation but there is something connecting us, and I am grateful.  She is courageous and that day helped me to be courageous as well. My spirit was lifted, and it made me smile. Again.

And then as if I had not been encouraged enough, while I walked to my vehicle, I noticed this huge smile on the seat of a boat. I think it looks like a very happy frog. Maybe you see something else. It was if God was making sure that I knew everything is going to be okay. That day, today, and any day’s difficulties will be okay because God’s got this. Have all my problems been solved? No. Is everything easy today. No. But God walks with me each and every day. And that is sufficient. In fact, that is more than enough. And it makes me smile.