Everything is Gonna Be Alright
“But you, O LORD, are a shield around me;
Psalm 3:3-6
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy mountain.
I lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the LORD was watching over me.
I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.”
Life can throw us curve balls in any moment. And my family sure has had our fair share of them. But even when we have been tempted to take off the catcher’s mitt and leave the field, we are reminded that God is always there — even in the most mundane moments.
My youngest and I took the one-hour drive to my mom’s house to visit with her for the day. We had a whirlwind of a time before saying our goodbyes and heading to the gas station.
As I finished filling up, I hopped in the car and got settled for the drive ahead. Unfortunately, as soon as I started the car and put it into gear, it rumbled and stalled. This happened four times before I was afraid to try again.
Defeated, I called my mom to let her know what was going on.
All I wanted to do was get home. I had stuff to do to finish out my day — and this was not part of the plan.
Nonetheless, we were grateful when my mom brought her neighbor to help. He looked the car over and said everything appeared to be fine. Then he told me to try starting it one more time. When I did, it started smoothly and even went into gear without stalling.
After driving it around the neighborhood, the consensus was that I should be fine to drive it home and get it checked out by our local mechanic sometime soon.
While the idea of driving an iffy car on the highway for 54 miles is not typically my idea of a good time, I went for it. Knowing that taking side streets would take a lot of extra time I didn’t want to waste, I drove the car toward I-95 North.
It seemed to be driving just fine. So, when I got to the on-ramp, I went for it. I said a prayer and held my breath.
I wasn’t too far down the road when I got into a comfortable groove (in the right hand lane, of course). It was then I realized the words that were being repeated gently on the radio… “everything’s gonna be alright…everything’s gonna be alright… ”
A song by Ryan Ellis that I had never heard before was echoing the most simple yet profound message in the perfect moment.
I exhaled as a smile came across my face.
This was my perfectly-timed reminder that everything really is going to be alright. God is always good. He is always there. He is always surrounding us in his protection. And it didn’t matter if my car got us all the way home or if we found ourselves on the side of the highway, we were not alone.
I loosened my grip on the steering wheel and let my fear go.
But you, O LORD, are a shield around me;
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
Whether you are dealing with pain, loss, fear, desperation, uncertainty, or something else, God is with you as you navigate through it. Keep your eyes focused on Him and, “everything’s gonna be alright.”
By the way, I have missed you, my friend.
Until next time… ♥♥
