For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

When he was a little boy his uncle called him "Sparky" after a comic-strip horse named Spark Plug.  School for this young man almost seemed like uselessness for this young man... as he failed every subject in the eighth grade!

His high school years weren't much better as he flunked Latin, Algebra and English.  He didn't even fare very well in gym class, although he did manage to make his high school's golf team.  Unfortunately, he lost the only important match of the season... along with the consolation match.

Sparky was awkward socially, the other students didn't dislike him... they just didn't seem to care much about him.  Sparky, never spoke with his classmates outside of school and he never dated... he was afraid of being turned down... even laughed at.

Everyone knew that Sparky was a loser... including Sparky... but he learned to live with it early in life.  He knew deep down that if things were meant to happen, they would.

Sparky had one important thing in his life... one wonderful desire, he loved drawing and he was proud of his art.  He was convinced that his abilities lie in his art work, so he submitted some of his cartoons to the high school yearbook.  The editors rejected Sparky's work... but this did not dim his hopes as he kept drawing.

After high school and undeterred Sparky wrote Walt Disney Studios.  They asked for samples of his artwork... and Sparky worked hard to send them his best.  However, Disney also rejected his art, confirming that Sparky truly was a loser.

Sparky didn't give up... where most might have long ago.  Instead, he decided to tell his own life's story in cartoons.  The main character would be Sparky himself... a little boy who represented the eternal loser and disappointment.

Do you know who I am referring to?  He was someone who could genuinely relate to those of us who held painful, embarrassing and hurtful moments from our own past.
His character lovingly became famous worldwide as... "Charlie Brown!"

So, Sparky may have been a failure to himself and others... but he never, ever gave up.  He kept trying, even when his work was rejected over and over again... and that's why Sparky undoubtedly became a huge WINNER!

Charles Schultz is the highly successful cartoonist.  His cartoon strip, "Peanuts," continues to inspire those of us who have struggled with our own self-esteem and failures.  This was a "loser" who never gave up... that alone makes him a double winner in my eyes!! 

We as must remember to never give up.  There will be times when we will become disheartened and discouraged... still we must keep going!  We must keep ourselves nourished in God's Word and on fire in our prayer life! 

My friend, I have been praying for some "specific things" that are especially dear to my heart and I have been praying for them now, for close to twenty years.  So I know the struggle... but I have determined that I will not give in or give up!!  These years have not been easy... still I have learned so much as I journeyed through them.

I don't know "why" God hasn't answered these prayers... they are not for selfish gain... they are not for fame or applause... the main prayers are  simply for the salvation of loved ones.  Yet the waiting... and the perseverance have sculpted and expanded my learning, it has deepened my walk with the Lord... I am a stronger person for all of it!!  Most importantly, I am confident that my Lord Jesus has it all under control and these years will not be in vain!

Though the times have been trying, they have also built incredible faith and I can truly say I have been blessed in them!  So, I will continue my walk with God, I will not give up and I will trust Him for the answers!!!

I stand on the Word of God: And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. Joel 2:25  I know that I know... God will replace these years that have been eaten away from every locust... the hopping locust... the stripping locust... the crawling locust... nothing can stop the army of God from restoration and revival!! 

So, my friend, the next time you feel like giving up... or quitting... think of "Charles Shultz & the "Peanut Gang!"  

Then be diligent and steadfast in the Lord.  Let God teach and mold you in the midst of the waiting.  Finally, keep your faith and trust in the Holy God who will never let you down!!! He will restore you completely if you do not give up!

Praise His wonderful Name!!!

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  Matthew 5:43-45

A man hopped into a taxi, sat back in his seat as they sped off for the airport.  They were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of the moving taxi.

The taxi driver had to slam on his brakes to skid and miss the other car by just inches.  The driver in the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at the taxi occupants.

At this point, the man was livid and about to do some yelling himself.  However, to his surprise the taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.  He was sincere and seemed to be truly friendly to the driver of the black car that just pulled out into the lane that had the right of way.

"Why did you just do that?  That driver almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital..."  the man in the taxi roared.  Then the taxi driver taught his passenger, what he called, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

The taxi driver explained, "Many people are like garbage trucks.  They run around full of garbage that they pick up all day long.  Things like, frustration, anger, rage gall, rage, bitterness and disappointments... etc.!  Then as their garbage fills their body, heart, soul and mind, they need a place to dump it.  And sometimes, they are so full, they dump it without thought... and it lands on you!"

The man once again sat back in his seat, as the taxi driver continued, "I have learned not to take it personally.  I just smile, wave, wish them well and move on.  I don't want a life full of garbage and I certainly don't want to take on their garbage, where I might spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets!"

As we were approaching the airport, the taxi driver summed it up like this, "Peaceful and successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day!  So I hope you have a good day from here, to wherever you are going!"

As I paid the taxi driver, I gave him a little more than usual that day with his tip.  I felt as if I had learned a lesson more valuable than any I had ever learned in my life!

We know the old written law very well, "Love your friends" and the unwritten law that follows, "Hate your enemies!"  I believe that the longer we live with that script... always playing in the back of our minds... the longer we will be challenged to change that sequence of events!!

For Christ is telling us just the opposite, He tells us to, "Love our enemies!"  He is trying to tell us to let our enemies bring out the best in us... never the worst.  When someone gives us a hard time... respond with the potency and authority of prayer! For it is in our prayer closets... that we should dump our garbage thus allowing the Holy Spirit to change our way of thinking and our hardened hearts!

Being a Christian means, we are representatives of Christ Jesus, therefore we must follow that which our Lord would do, at all times!  While Jesus is no longer here physically on earth, it is so much more important to double or even better... redouble our efforts to live as if He was in plain sight, right next door to us!! 

A look at Gods Word says, "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."   Philippians 2:11-13

God is always at work in us, to make us willing and able to obey his own purpose!  He will give us the desire and the power to do what will not only please Him... but will help us to work out a better way to live our lives without all the frustration of personal garbage!!

The bottom line is this, life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so... love the people who treat you right and pray for the ones who don't.  Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

So they had to make a choice: either accept a bit of pain from their family and friends quills or accept that they would all die and disappear from the Earth. 

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the very ones protecting them from the cold and snow.
 
This is how the hedgehogs survived the severe weather.  This is how they learned that there is always some pain that goes with life... but if they stayed close together... their pain was shared with their family and friends. 

Sadly, being close to one another means we easily and most definitely will get hurt at times.  However, if we pull apart from one another we face another  type of hurt, which like the hedgehog, might be even more detrimental.

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but one where each individual  learns to live together with their imperfections.  We need to take a higher road... called love to live in harmony and peace.

In showing mercy and kindness to those in our family and to our Christian brothers and sisters, we bring to them comfort and contentment.  Our compassion for one another should be done on a daily basis if we want our lives to be peaceable and pleasing to God.

A smile from a sincere heart brings warmth and understanding, a touch on the hand conveys human warmth.  An empathetic expression or a kind word to someone who is hurting may be all that it takes to bring some contentment or peacefulness.

The evidence of Christ, when clearly confirmed in our lives, will compel us to show just such compassion and mercy to one another.  Merciful Christians are Gods own advocates and disciples!  They are the voice, the hands, the feet and the actions of God!  They bring joy and build faith in the hearts of those who are hurting!

Live like a hedgehog!  Stay close to one another and show a little compassion... and a little love to someone today!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

A father was driving one rainy afternoon along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when roads are wet and slick.  Suddenly, his daughter, Josie, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat.  "Dad, I'm thinking of something."

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while and was now ready to expound all that her six year old mind had discovered.  Dad was eager to hear what she had to say.  "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"The rain" she began, "is like sin and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away!"  After the goose bumps raced up the dad's arms, he was able to respond, "That's a really good thought."

Then his curiosity broke in.  How far would this little girl take this revelation?  So he asked,  "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming?  What does that tell you?"

His little girl didn't hesitate one moment with her answer, "We keep on sinning and God still keeps on forgiving us."  Her dad thought to himself, "I will always remember this whenever I turn my windshield wipers on."
-Author Unknown

Many Christians stumble and think that if they have fallen and sinned... they can't really be saved or forgiven again!  This is a lie from Satan himself!  While we don't want to continue in sin... simply because we know God is willing to forgive us (Romans 6:1)... we can be assured Christ is our attorney, always pleading our case before the Father.

This is an incredible promise to all God's children... that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ!!  1 John 2:1,2  God is always willing to forgive us our sins, if we come to Him with a an attitude of true repentance and ask for forgiveness! 

Don't struggle with thoughts from the devil... pick up your Bible and get acquainted with our Lord and Savior, who was and is the propitiation for our sins!! *Note: 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 

The following is one man's account of life, an encounter with a "Box-Jellyfish" (picture at left) and his journey in death.
 
                                                                    The Accident

One night while diving for lobster on the small Island of Mauritius I was stung on my forearm by 5 Box-Jellyfish, which the local Creole fishermen called "invisables."  A sting from a Box-Jellyfish often proves to be fatal - as was exemplified in  Australia where 70 people are known to have died from their stings. Many books quote this particular type of Jellyfish to be among the most venomous creatures in the world.

By the time an ambulance arrived my body was totally paralyzed and necrosis had begun to set into my bone marrow. On route to the hospital I began to see my life flash before me. At this point of my life I was an atheist - but I knew I was nearly dead and I didn't know if there was life after death or whether there was just nothing.

                                                                      The Prayer

As I lay there dying, I saw my mother in a vision,  encouraging me to cry out to God from my heart and He would hear me and forgive me (my mother was the only Christian in our family.) I didn't know what to pray and cried out that if God was real, could He help me to pray. Immediately God showed me the Lord’s Prayer, and for the first time in my life I prayed from my heart and I gave my life to the Lord. 

                                                                         Death & Hell

The ambulance stopped and they placed me in a wheel chair and raced me into the hospital. The nurse took my blood pressure twice but could not find a pulse as my veins had collapsed. The doctors tried to save my life by injecting anti-toxins and dextrose into my body, but seemingly to no avail. Within a few minutes I seemed to slip away (apparently life ceased from my body for a period of approximately 15 minutes).

During this time I found myself in a very dark place, not realizing where I was. So I tried to find a light switch, thinking I was still in the hospital - but as I reached out into the dark I couldn't touch anything.  Reaching to touch my face I found my hand go straight through it. It seemed so bizarre, as I knew I was standing there but couldn't touch any part of my physical body.

As I stood there I began to sense that this wasn't just a physical darkness but that there was something else there. I could feel a cold eerie feeling as though something
or someone was looking at me - a spiritual darkness. From the darkness I began to hear men’s voices screaming at me telling me to "shut up" - "that I deserved to be there" - "that I was in Hell". 

I couldn't believe it, but as I stood there a radiant beam of light shone through the darkness and immediately began to lift  me upward. I found myself being translated up into an incredibly brilliant beam of pure white light - it seemed to be emanating from a circular opening far above me (I felt like a speck of dust being drawn up into a beam of sunlight).

                                                                   The Journey

I entered this opening to find myself inside a long narrow passageway or tunnel - at the far end of the tunnel I could see the source of the light - it was so radiant that it looked to be the center of the universe. As I continued to look towards this light it seemed to draw me towards it at an incredible speed - I wasn't walking but was being translated along this tunnel towards the source of this light. I watched as a wave of light broke off the source and moved up the tunnel towards me - as it passed through me I could feel a wave of warmth and comfort flood my soul… it was incredible.

This light wasn't just physical, but was giving off a living emotion … Halfway down another wave of light - this time it gave off pure peace - followed by another wave - of pure joy. Coming out of the end of this tunnel I found myself standing in the presence of awesome light and power - it seemed as though even the constellations in the universe must find their energy source from this focal point.

As I stood there I wondered to myself if this was just an energy source in the universe or if perhaps there could be someone standing in the midst of this light!!!!! A  voice immediately responded to my thought and asked me "Ian, do you wish to return?"  Return, I thought!!!  Where am I???  As I looked over my shoulder I could
see the tunnel going back into darkness. 

                                                                      The Light

I thought - darkness - hospital bed - am I out of my body? - is this real? - am I standing here? - or am I in a coma having some bizarre dream? Am I in my body or out of my body?? (I could cognitively think of the two alternatives.)  As I looked back
towards the light, it was still there ... I responded "I don't know where I am, but if I am out of my physical body I wish to return."  The voice responded "If you wish to return - you must see in a new light." "New light", I thought, "I'm seeing the light." "Are you the true light???" Words appeared in front of me "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5 )

I had never read a Bible before in my life so I didn't know this was straight out of the
scriptures. God is light, I thought - that is pure light - I see no darkness here, I have just come from darkness - I see no evil, no shadows - this is pure light - am I standing in the presence of God??? He knows my name and I didn't tell Him, only God could do that - He knows what I am thinking before I even speak, only God could do that. Then he must be able to see everything I have done wrong in my life ... no... I don't want God to see that. I felt totally exposed and wanted to move away from the light and go back into the darkness where I belonged.

I thought someone had made a mistake and brought the wrong person up. As I drew back towards the darkness a wave of light swept through me... I felt pure unadulterated Love flow over me. Love I thought, how could God love me - I've taken his name in vain - I've slept around - I'm not a good man… but no matter what I said, waves of His unconditional Love continued to flow over me. I found myself weeping uncontrollably in His Presence. It was so amazing that He had totally forgiven me and accepted me as I was.

                                                                         My God

The waves of Love ceased and I wondered if I could possibly step into the light and see what God looked like. I was so close. ... I asked if I could step in. ..???.. I heard no response but thought if God could love me so much, He wouldn't mind…. As I  stepped into the light I found myself disappear into it as it was so radiant - it had the intensity of laser light, yet you could look directly at it.

The light seemed to absorb me into it - the center seemed to be very bright so I aimed for it - I could feel a healing presence coming off this light that was healing my broken heart ... it was touching me deep inside my heart of hearts where no one gets to see... so beautiful. 

Suddenly it opened up in the center and standing in front of me was the most awesome sight - I could see a man standing in front of me, but he was not like anyone I'd ever seen before in my life. His garments were shimmering white in color - garments of light - I could see His bare feet and His hands were outstretched towards me as if to welcome me. I knew I was looking upon God … as I looked toward His face the intensity of the light seemed to increase 7-fold - you couldn't make out the form of his face as the light was so bright - such purity, such holiness, such beauty.

I asked God if I could step closer. I felt I could, I wanted to see His face. Moving closer waves of more Love began to flow towards me, and I felt very safe. Standing, now feet away, from the Lord I tried to see His face - but I didn't know that no man can see the face of God and live. And so, as I moved my face into the radiance that surrounded His face, He moved - and all His Glory moved with Him. Directly behind Him it opened out into a brand new World - green pastures, a crystal clear stream, rolling green hills to my right, mountains in the distance, blue skies above, to my left fields interspersed with trees and flowers.

As I looked at the grass in front of me I could see the same light that was on the presence of God was radiating throughout this entire creation - totally untouched by man - perfect creation. And in my heart I knew I belonged here, that God had created me to live here - I knew I was home.

                                                                             Return?
 
I was just about to enter in and explore, when God stepped back in front of me, and asked  me this question. "Now that you have seen - do you wish to step in or do you wish to return?" I thought, "I don't want to return. I wish to step in. I have no one to go back for and no one has ever loved me, all they've ever done is manipulate me and try to control me... I have no one to go back for, I wish to step in."

But God didn't move, so I looked back behind me to say "goodbye, cruel world", and standing behind me in a vision in front of the tunnel was my mother. And as soon as I saw her I knew that there was one person in my life that had shown me love, and that was my mother, and that she had prayed for me every day and night, trying to show me that this was the way.
 
In my mind I thought, "if I am dead and I did choose to step into heaven, what would my mother think? Would she know I made it or would she think I went to Hell - because she knew I had no Faith? … I realized that it could break her heart and that she would have no reason to believe that God had heard my prayer in the ambulance and forgiven my sins. …I thought, "how can I do that to my mum, it would be so selfish" … and decided I wished to return.

God then spoke to me and said, "If I wished to return - I must see things in a new light." I  understood that to mean that I must begin to see through his eyes of Love, Peace,  Joy, Forgiveness, from His Heavenly perspective, not my temporary earthly perspective. 

Looking back towards the tunnel again I now could see a vision of all my family, and thousands and thousands of other people. I asked God who all these people were, and He told me that if I didn't return then many of these people would not get a chance to hear about Him….

I told God that I didn't know most of them and I didn't love them, but that I loved my
mother and wished to return for her. God spoke to me and told me that He loved those people and wanted them all to come to know Him. I asked God how could I possibly return back down the tunnel and back into my hospital bed.  He spoke and said, "Son, tilt your head, now feel the liquid drain from your eye. Now open your eye and see." And I was immediately back in my physical body. 

                                                                     Back to Earth 

As I opened my eye, I was lying back on a hospital bed with my right leg elevated, cupped in the hands of the young Indian doctor who had been trying to save my life. He had a scalpel or some sharp instrument in his hand and he was prodding the base of my foot like a dead piece of meat.

He wasn't aware that I was looking at him. I thought, "what's that man doing with my foot, what is he doing with that knife!!!!!!" At the same time something seemed to spook the doctor and he quickly turned his head to see my right eye open, looking at him… Terror struck his face and I got the distinct impression that he has just seen a dead man looking at him.
 
My eye wasn't moving much and I could see the doctor thinking to himself that perhaps he had hit a nerve in my foot and caused the corpse to twitch, and that he had the evil eye looking at him or something. As for me, I was trying to grapple with what I had just seen. … Did I just see God, has He just given my life back???
 
As I lay there I heard the voice of God say "Son, I have just given you your life back." I said, "If that is true God, could you help me to tilt my head to the left and look out of the other eye," as I was getting  sick of looking at the doctor’s terrified face. Strength came back into my neck and I opened my left eye to see a whole bunch of nurses and orderlies standing in the doorway looking at me as if the dead had just risen.
 
As my eye locked  onto theirs they began to jump backwards out of the doorway. From what I can  ascertain I had been dead for a period of some 15 minutes. I prayed to God that night and asked him to heal me and enable me to walk out of the hospital. That night God completely healed me and enabled me to walk out of the hospital the next day.

I asked God what I had become, as I found my entire life was changing for good. God told me I was a Re-Born Christian and that he wanted me to read His Bible. I had never read a Bible and had never heard about being Born-Again. Over the next 6 weeks I  read the entire Bible.  I have never been the same, and I believe that I saw our Lord Jesus Christ in His Glorified form. (Revelation 1:13-18)
--© Ian McCormack 
All Copyrights belong to: Ian McCormack - See His Website Below

I am not going to expound upon Ian's accident, I believe it speaks for itself.  I would only ask one question... "Friend, Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?" If you do not, I would ask you to consider your life... what you have done with it... where you are going... and most important - "Do you know Jesus Christ as Lord &  
Savior?"

If your answer is "No..." I believe your reading Ian's testimony is no coincidence and I also believe, God is speaking to you... He is trying to get your attention, because He loves you and He wants to be a part of your life.  Will you consider giving your life to
Jesus Christ today??  If so, go to "contact me" and I would be happy to explain the Gospel and pray with you.  I am praying for you even now!

You can visit Ian's Website at: http://www.aglimpseofeternity.org/  

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin... 1 Peter 4:1

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff.  She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb.  As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.

"Great," she thought.  "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff and now my sight is blurry."  She looked and looked, hoping that somehow the lens had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there!

She felt frustration and panic begin to rise within... and instead of giving in to those emotions, she began to pray.  She prayed for calm and she prayed that she might find her contact lens.

When she reached the top of the granite rock, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found.  With one eye blurry she couldn't see much of the beauty at the top of the cliff... but with her other eye she could see range after range of majestic mountain tops.

Then this Bible verse came to her, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."  She thought, "Lord, you can see all these mountains.  You know every stone and leaf... and Lord, You know exactly where my contact lens is.  Please help me find it." 

Later, when she and her friends had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff, they met another party of climbers preparing to go up the rocky height.  One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys!  Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough.  But you know why the climber saw it? An ant was slowly moving across a twig, on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn’t end there.  Brenda’s father was a cartoonist.  When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption:   “Lord, I don’t know why You want
me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."  He wrote at the bottom of the cartoon, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

Perhaps my friend you are going through a trial or maybe you are carrying a burden that just seems larger than what you are able to bear. 

Other, well meaning Christians may say, "God will not give you more than you can bear." And you begin to think to yourself,
"I'm a spiritual weakling or just a wimp."

I want to tell you, that you are in good company friend!!  Let's look at God's Word and see what He says about our afflictions and anxieties.  Paul talks plainly about heavy sufferings in 2 Corinthians 7-10.

While in the Asia province, life became very difficult and hard to bear.  They felt utterly hopeless and unbearably weighed down.  The pressures that befell them where crushing,  they were overwhelmed beyond what they could endure and they expected they would die!

What was happening was to teach them... that they could not rely on their own strength, they needed God's strength!  Their sorrows forced them to trust God totally!  And... wasn't it God who was able to raise the dead??  And wouldn't He be able to rescue them??  Well... He did rescue them from their doom... what's more He can and will do it again... for YOU!

However, part of the deliverance... part of the release is found in prayer!  Yes, God rescues and He is able to rescue us as many times as we need it!  But, our prayers play a crucial part in our saving and relief!!

When we "let go" and petition God's help... when we give God "all that we are"... then and only then is He able to deliver us from danger and destruction and draw us to Himself for comfort, peace of mind and healing! 

When we "forego all worldly advice" and our own "human reasoning" -- when we learn to depend solely on "God's Wisdom and Grace..." we will find complete liberty and saving unity in Him! 

I can't stop your suffering... I can't end your trials.  But I know who can!!!  I know this God who does bring peace... where peace seems impossible.  I know Him, because I seek Him and I seek Him to know Him even more... because my friend I too, have been on the battlefield.  I too have thought, "This is too much to bear, it is too much to carry!" 

Yet, somehow I know that I am not alone!  There is one who is with me.... and He is Jesus!!  Only He is there... He is in the midst of my storms and my burdens... and I can see Him... I can see my Jesus!!