some days, life is easy, the sun is shining and all seems right with the world.

other days, it seems the sun will never shine again, questions abound, finances loom, fear assails.

"You hem me in behind and before and lay your hand upon me." 

what a promise!

on the good days, the bad days and the normal, ho-hum, everyday days ...

GOD IS THERE!

we are hemmed in by Him and His ever gracious, loving protection and provision.

verse 5 of psalms 139 tells us that not only is He all around us, but He lays His hand on us ... He is personal, He is not detached, watching from afar, but His hand, that hand, that beautiful nail scarred hand that was pierced for you and for me is laid upon us! truly "such knowledge is too wonderful for me".

He has been in our past {You hem me in behind}, He is in our present {You lay Your hand upon me} and He knows our future {You hem me in before}!

He is behind, before, above, below, and on either side of me!

this knowledge really is far beyond my scope of comprehension.

my frail, limited human mind cannot grasp the depth and height and breadth of a love so all encompassing!

i can get a small glimpse of it when i consider the love i have for my girls, or my parents, or my husband, but even that is limited by my human-ness.

the knowledge, the wonder, the all encompassing love that God has for me exceeds any knowledge that i possess ... and i don't believe i will ever fully understand it until i reach my eternal home in heaven.

until then though, this great love that hems me in is a comfort beyond comfort on the most difficult of days, it is the sunshine on the days that seem the sun will never shine, it is the grace that holds me and the life that sustains me when i feel like i can't move forward. 

it is the love that i got a glimpse of when i first peered into the faces of my beautiful newborn babies. 

it is the love that sustained me when the doctor spoke those words that forever changed my life on november 5, 2011.

it is the tip of the iceberg of the love and joy i felt being able to say *i do* when He allowed me to find love again, and the sheer happiness i felt watching my girls experience that same love and commitment when they said their wedding vows!

here in the *yoop* {michigan's upper peninsula} it is the dead of winter ... days are short {but getting longer}, temperatures are cold {but getting warmer}, snow is plentiful {but beautiful to behold} and i know that many suffer from the *winter blues* {i know that many of you in other places suffer the same}.

how different would our lives, our outlooks, our emotions be if we could continue to keep our focus on Him rather on the weather, or our circumstances, our perceived lack of material possessions, of the love we so desperately seek, our health, our relationships or the many other things that sometimes threaten to bring us to the brink of despair?

to fully realize that He has *hemmed us in* ... He goes before, He follows after, He is above and below and all around truly is a thought that should cause us to find peace and joy in every day, in each situation, and in each moment that we live!

dear Lord, as we live each day, sometimes in the sunshine and sometimes in the shadows, let us never stop looking to You to be our all! help us to remember that truly, Lord, You are really all we ever need.  You are the One who knows all, who goes before and behind, holding us close, knowing all there is to know about us. You know us, You love us, You lay your hand upon us. such knowledge is too great for us  to fully grasp, but please let us be aware of it! let us seek it out and hold on to it through the good days and the rough days. remind us daily to look to You and to trust that You have a plan for us and that you are going before us. thank You that You lay your hand upon us, love us and guide us, when we seek you with all our being. please provide comfort where comfort is needed, hope where hope feels lost. remind us to praise you when the days are sunny and to lean on you when they are not. thank You for this amazing love that You have freely extended to each of us, and let it be our strength and portion for each day that you give us breath here on this earth. amen.

remember ... you are cherished, loved and adored!