When You’re Walking Through the Thick of It

This evening, as the Florida sky settled into that soft watercolor haze, I sat on the porch with my iced coffee (way too much creamer, as usual), and I felt the Lord nudge my heart with a simple sentence:

“Daughter, I’m still in this.”

Isn’t it wild how we can know God is with us… and yet still feel like we’re out here swinging in the wind? Bills due, relationships stretched thin, dreams delayed, hope feeling a little wobbly. Life gets heavy. And when life gets heavy, our minds love to whisper nonsense.

“You’re failing.”
“You’re falling behind.”
“You should’ve had it all together by now.”
“No one understands what you’re carrying.”

But that’s not the voice of our Father.

He never once asked you to carry the world. He asked you to walk with Him.

Tonight, I kept thinking about Psalm 34:18:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Close.
Not distant.
Not disappointed.
Close.

Sometimes the closeness of God doesn’t feel like a shout — it feels like a whisper. A breath. A nudge. A reminder that He is not pacing heaven in panic over your situation.

He’s steady.
He’s present.
He’s working on the parts you can’t see yet.

And if you’re walking through a season where you feel like you’re doing everything you can just to hold it together, I want to tell you something I wish someone would've told me during some of my hardest nights:

You’re not losing. You’re being led.
You’re not forgotten. You’re being formed.
You’re not behind. You’re being built.

Every closed door, every delayed dream, every heavy day… none of it is wasted. God is using all of it, every single drop of it, to strengthen you, soften you, purify you, and position you.

And one day, you’ll look back and say:

“I didn’t realize it then, but the Lord was in that too.”

Tonight, as I finished praying, I felt this deep peace settle in my chest, the kind that doesn’t come from understanding but from surrender. The kind that says:

“God, You know what You’re doing. I trust You with every corner of my story.”

And friend, that’s my prayer for you tonight, too.

That peace finds you.
That hope stirs in you again.
That you feel the closeness of the Father sitting right there beside you on your own porch, even if your heart feels tired.

You’re going to make it through this chapter.
Grace is still running toward you.
And Jesus hasn’t taken His eyes off you for one second.

I’m proud of you.
I’m praying for you.
And I’m right here on this porch with you.

— Sunshine AKA - Maria. 🤍🌾