My best friend suggested a book for me to read called Out of the Darkness. I wanted to share this from it. It touched me deeply - I hope it will do the same for everyone here at MB.<P>LEND ME YOUR HOPE<P>Lend me your hope for awhile,<BR>I seem to have mislaid mine.<BR>Lost and hopeless feelings accompany me daily,<BR>pain and confusion are my companions.<BR>I know not where to turn;<BR>looking ahead to future times does not bring forth images of renewed hope.<BR>I see troubled times, pain-filled days, and more tragedy. <P>Lend me your hope for awhile,<BR>I seem to have mislaid mine.<BR>Hold my hand and hug me;<BR>listen to all my ramblings, recovery seems so far distant.<BR>The road to healing seems like a long and lonely one.<P>Lend me your hope for awhile,<BR>I seem to have mislaid mine.<BR>Stand by me, offer me your presence, your heart and your love.<BR>Acknowledge my pain, it is so real and <BR>ever present.<BR>I am overwhelmed with sad and<BR>conflicting thoughts.<P>Lend me your hope for awhile; a time will come when I will heal, and I will share my renewal, hope and love with others.<P>-author unknown

Dawnn - Great Post. Thanks for sharing the poem.

Thanks, Dawnn, for sharing the poem. I can identify with so much of it. The interesting thing for me is, once I've accepted (and expect) this place of darkness right now, it seems to be easier. There is a peace. Once I try to stop getting away from the pain, it becomes more bearable. It is "for awhile", as the poem says.<P>I've shared part of this on another post, but want to put it here, too. It is a song by John Michael Talbot, words by Daniel Schutte.<P>Holy Darkness<P>Holy Darkness, blessed night<BR>Heaven's answer, hidden from our sight,<BR>As we await you, O God of silence,<BR>We embrace your holy night.<P>I have tried you in the fires of affliction;<BR>I have taught your soul to grieve,<BR>In the barren soil of your loneliness,<BR>there I will plant My seed.<P>In the deepest hour of your darkness,<BR>I will give you wealth untold,<BR>When the silence stills your spirit,<BR>will my riches fill your soul.<P><P>------------------<BR>"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

Hi SKM... thanks for your response to me on the other thread. I have read a lot of your posts and have been encouraged - thank you.<P>sifted - <P>Tears came to my eyes when reading this. Thank you so much for posting it here. I understand what you are saying. There is a peace in doing what one needs to do - giving God room to do the rest.<P>-Dawnn

Even in the darkest of night, when the storms unleash their fury, and the waves beat with an unmatched fierceness against your soul....there is One lighthouse whose beacon never dims. And while the light may warn many others of impending danger, it also is there to let weary travelers, who have been lost at sea know....that land is close by...hold on....and the Captain of your soul...will bring you into safe harbour.

Great Posts .<P>I especially like your's, Lighthouse!<P>Okay, Here's my favorite: (From A BOOK OF PSALMS; Stephen Mitchell)<P>Psalm 17:<BR>Lord listen to my prayer;<BR>hear me in my hour of need.<BR>I am overwhelmed by my troubles<BR>and terrified by my thoughts.<BR>Guide my feet on your path;<BR>don't let me stop or falter.<BR>Teach me how powerful your love is<BR>and how insubstantial my fears.<BR>Like the pupil of the eye protect me;<BR>hide me in the shadow of your wings.<BR>Cover me with your mercy;<BR>rock me to sleep in the dark.<BR>And let me, when I awaken,<BR>see nothing but the light of your face.<P>Peace, ~Marie<BR>----------------<P>"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." Martin Luther King, Jr.

ohmy_marie,<P>thanks..wow. I think I too often forget how much is in that book!! <P>lighthouse,<P>Once again you have shared something of great value. I know what you are saying is right. The storm I am in is unlike any other I have known. I know it is the same for everyone here. But we have Hope.<P>thank you<P>-Dawnn

Gosh....I"m not sure that I've read anything that better describes the feelings many of us experience here. These words are almost 'haunting' as they describe much of what I am feeling.<P>"The road to healing seems like a long and lonely one.....I see troubled times, pain-filled days"<P>Amazing...how simple words, can so adequately describe certain places we find ourselves in. Thanks for sharing this.<P><BR>

Thanks for all of these they truly embrace what a lot of us are feeling.<P>This morning when I was doing my daily bible reading the quote which went along with it read:-<P>Don't think that you are finished,<BR>Just trust God's love and care:<BR>Delays are not denials;<BR>Persist in faith and prayer.<P>This lifted my spirits when I ready it, I hope it does the same for some of you.<P>A