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Holy Ground in Hard Places
By: Heidi Keeler
I don’t like hard things.
I wish I did. I wish I could say that I relished the challenge of something that pushes me to my limits. But to be honest, most of the time I don’t. I like things that turn out exactly how I envisioned them or even better. I like it when everything falls right into place and goes according to my plans. I like it when I can quickly accomplish my goals and see progress being made in realizing my dreams. I like beauty, laughter, peace, and smooth waters. I consistently avoid sad movies and books. I like happy endings.
But sometimes, life has the audacity to stray from the cozy, safe parameters I have set up for it, and God allows it to happen.
There are times, many times, when we find ourselves in places we would rather not be. Hard places. Places where the opposite of what we have planned for and desired comes rushing in as our new reality. Seasons where our voice seems silenced and our name seems forgotten, where we look around us and have a difficult time piecing back together what used to be our dreams out of the rubble that lies at our feet. Some of my times like this have included deep disappointment and discouragement, battles with anxiety, panic attacks and depression, financial pressure that seemed to drag on and on, and long stretches in the midst of it all where I had to fight hard to believe that God had not forgotten me and moved on. I am sure you have your own list of painful spots in your life.
I don’t like those hard places, and my guess is neither do you. But I am learning to value them, because I am finding out that the hard places I would never choose to go are full of treasure. So make no mistake about it, I find I am profoundly grateful for the trying, pressing times—even the ones that have cut deep. Without them I would still be a version of myself, that in my heart of hearts, I don’t really want to be.
Hard places always lead to holy ground when we have the courage to keep walking forward.
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