Never alone

Ruthie was tired. She woke up with her eyes half open and stumbled through the day.

Every Day.

She tried getting more sleep by going to bed earlier. She tried drinking chamomile tea before bed. She even tried taking melatonin gummies at night. Nothing worked!

One day, as she was walking to school, she bumped into something. It was soft and warm so she climbed into it. It lifted her up into the sky and she fell asleep! She slept better than she ever had before. She felt amazing when she woke up. She was placed, by the thing that she climbed into, right back on the sidewalk so she just walked the rest of the way to school.

Ruthie couldn’t stop thinking about her experience. She tried to tell her friends but they laughed at her and said she was crazy. She told her mom when she got home but she said she was worried about her and that she would be scheduling a doctor appointment for her SOON! She told her dad the following weekend but he wasn’t really paying attention to her because he was on his phone, so he just smiled and nodded.

Ruthie couldn’t wait to find that something again someday.

A week later, Ruthie’s mom told her they were moving to a new city and her dad told her he was getting married. The news zapped Ruthie and she felt exhausted again. She found herself stumbling through the days just like she was before. She had completely forgotten about that something she bumped into. She lost her joy somewhere and stopped looking for it. She started crying and couldn’t stop. Her mom scheduled an appointment with a counselor. Her dad got married. All Ruthie wanted to do was sleep through life.

One day she woke up and felt someone wiping her tears away. She couldn’t see anyone but she felt it. The same someone hugged her with more love than she’d ever felt before. Her joy seeped back in as the love rushed into her heart.

Ruthie stopped crying.

She tried to tell her friends about the hug but they laughed at her and said she was crazy. Her mom was happy for her but told her she was still concerned. Her dad, well, you know… nodded.

Ruthie searched for the something every time she felt sad and it appeared! Sometimes it was there for her to climb into and sleep when she was tired. Sometimes it wiped her tears away. Sometimes it hugged her with that same healing love hug she felt that very first time. The something never left her! Ruthie grew closer and closer to the something through her growing up years. She stopped telling people about it. It was her secret. It helped her heal from her parent’s divorce, her move to a new city, and her dad’s new marriage. It even helped her focus at school! She never let go of her something and it never let go of her either.

If you ever feel extremely tired or overwhelmingly sad, seek out your something. I believe you will stumble right into it. It will help you through life just like it did with Ruthie.

For me, that something was God. I pictured Him there with me as I scrolled through my past. True healing began when I realized He was there with me, holding me when life was exhausting me. He was the One who was wiping my tears and hugging me with His enormous love.