I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy . . .You have set my feet in a wide place.
Psalm 31:8, NKJV
Walking a loop trail is a beautiful thing. One can enjoy the convenience of “walking a circle.” Taking such a trail regularly, one gets to know every obstacle along the path and learns how to deal with it. Everything becomes familiar.
Unfortunately, not every loop trail in life is wholesome. I realized an area in my life where I was running an inner loop trail, trapped in compulsive circular thinking. A painful experience has forced me to take a closer look at that old pattern of “thinking.”
Preceded by many prayers for healing and growth I started to experience my situation differently. It felt like a breakthrough into something new. My prayers are being answered.
When I was hurting, I would go on about my pain, in endless circles, condemning the perpetrator. Now I let my friends help me to find a different line of thought. We briefly talk about the pain and the person who caused it before steering the conversation in an empathetic and inspiring direction. The process challenges me to take new steps and my friends reassure me that I can do it. I don't want to think and walk along the same paths anymore. A new resolve is growing inside of me.
Being nurtured in such a patient and loving way helps me to realize how paralyzing a negative life pattern is. Together, we identify further steps, which correspond to my conviction deep down inside. Staying true to my feelings, I see how liberating this is. In my heart I contemplate how to express this best.
Hikes in nature help me to bring everything before God in few words. Thoughts swarming in my mind are reduced to what is important, offering a refreshing sense of clarity.
I rejoice that God has seen my affliction, and the anguish of my soul (Psalm 31:7). He has not given me into the hands of the enemy. He makes growth possible. He sets me in a spacious place (Psalm 31:8). Bits and pieces of what I had previously perceived are now falling in place. A process of healing and liberation is given room. I am ready to embark on new roads to wide places.
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