Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, life isn't all sunshine and laughter - our seas are not always calm but You know all about it, Lord, for You created us. We're clay vessels. We tend to wear out and get ill, both mentally and physically. Sometimes medicines help and sometimes, it seems to us, that the side effects are worse than whatever it is we have.

At a recent art show there were hundreds of lovely pictures and drawings of plants, animals, scenery, sky; you name it and it was there. Some paintings looked like photographs; they were that good! As folks walked the aisles and visited with several artists, one chap told how he had come to draw each picture; some were drawn from a photograph or some scenes or animals he'd seen, then he drew them from memory while other illustrations, he had just visualized. One of his drawings really stood out - it was a long tunnel with a small cross at the tiny open end. The way he drew it brought to mind a person going through a real tough time, mentally and physically. The artist had drawn a tumultuous tunnel, like a mixed-up time in one's life, but the idea was to focus on the "light" at the end of the tunnel, where You are, Lord, waiting for us.

Light is mentioned many times in Your Word, Lord, but if that picture would have had a verse, it might have been. Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear." The Lord is the strength of my life' of whom shall I be afraid?"

Sometimes we are so busy living life horizontally that we forget to look up, or even to look at the "light" at the end of the tunnel. Thank You, Lord, that You are our light and our salvation.

Love, Mara