I am walking the way of Jesus the best I can. He leads and I follow. He is brightness and light, full love, peace and joy. He illumines my steps. I see my steps more clearly after I’ve taken them. My trust in Him is ever growing. It is a hard journey, but He’s never failed me.

I said that it’s a hard journey. It is that, in many respects. But it is also a good journey, in many respects. Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are great companions to have on a journey. The Spirit teaches as I go. I benefit from listening and taking to heart the strength He imparts.

God provides love, direction, and context for the journey. His book has wisdom and truth that fills me with goodness. I am enlightened as I read His Word, and I am encouraged as I embrace His way. He has answers, and I am grateful for them. God is the mastermind behind it all.

Jesus, however, speaks differently though the same. He is the God-human companion that never fails to assist me. When I say “Help me,” He does. Jesus dries my tears when I am hurt. He gives me courage when I am afraid. He lifts me up when I am down. He speaks when I need comfort.

I like the way all three persons of the Godhead show up when I’m going astray. My problem areas aren’t the big bad ones, but I get off the track, nevertheless. Once I see my area of drifting, then I will try to get out of that rut. The Holy Spirit lets me know that something’s not right. Then God’s Word confirms it, more often than not.

God has been showing me some things that need fine tuning. I’m up for that. It’s weird, but I have let a few things get me down and get the better of me. Covid hasn’t helped matters. That’s no way to live.

A question in a lesson book asked, “How might it change your day today if you were to cease looking for human approval and begin seeking only the approval of God?” My answer, I’d be more productive and less defeated. That was a defining moment in my reality. I’m chasing a new reality now, one that’s love-based, which is God-based because God is love.

I’ve decided to look at obstacles differently. Love changes the way I look at things. It makes me braver, I can love people wherever I go. It pushes my shyness aside and opens the doors to a productive life even if it’s just loving people. How? I ask God to fill me with His love, and I go from there.

God loves you. Jesus loves you. The Holy Spirit loves you. It is good to be loved so adequately, profoundly, and tenderly. Some days we feel separated from that love because troubles enter our lives, and we fail to see their purpose. Yet the love is there, sustaining you. You’re abundantly loved.

God loves you. Jesus loves you. The Holy Spirit you. It is good to be loved so adequately, profoundly, and tenderly. Some day

It’s always worth looking for answers as long as we’re looking in the right places where the answers are found. I remember last year I found an answer in the book Codependent No More. I saw aspects of myself in that book. I hadn’t realized that I had codependency traits that controlled part of me. I also realized that part of my happiness was bound in an unhealthy way to others’ happiness or their happiness with me. This was huge.

Keep looking and you’ll keep finding. I can’t wait to tell you about what I’m learning now. I realized another sizeable gap in me, and I couldn’t believe that I had been so dense to never think of it in my spiritual makeover. That story will be in another post.

It’s a great day when your head comes out of the fog to live fully, faithfully, and cheerfully.

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

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• The family picture is of my children and me the first Christmas without their dad. We were sad, and I think it shows. We are at my folks’ house. I had a hard time, but I was well on my way to a new reality of ‘God with me.’
• God is gracious.