"You, who made me stare trouble in the face, Turn me around; Now let me look life in the face. I’ve been to the bottom;" Psalm 71:20 (MSG)

I’ve been walking along a rough patch of the journey for the past week or so. It’s nothing major, mind you. I have no catastrophic tragedies to report. There are no terrible events which led me to this place. It’s just a handful of disparate, momentary circumstances that have formed into a perfect storm right over my head. I feel anxious. Rest eludes me. My emotions are on a hair trigger. Like the psalmist, I feel like I’m staring trouble in the face. I feel like I’m hitting bottom.

Please, don’t worry. This is nothing strange or new. It’s part of the trek. I’ve been talking things through with my wife, Wendy. She’s a great companion to have, especially along these stretches of life’s path. I’ve been here before. I will have to walk through stretches like this again. You will, too. It’s part of the journey.

Our sojourn through this life is not about happiness. It’s about wholeness. The destination is not merriment, it’s maturity. Growth, maturity, and wholeness are not by-products of a never ending Disneyworld life. They are earned as we stare trouble in the face and persevere. They emerge after we reach bottom. Then God turns us to face the next rise on the horizon, and gently urges us to keep pressing on.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and luckytom.