“Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely,
And long for heaven and home;
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is he;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me.”

This song is one of my favorite inspirational hymns. It gives me hope when it feels all hope is gone. It shines a light on the darkest of days. It seeks to remind us that the creator of the universe loves us more than we can even imagine. It lets us know he cares about all the things and all the stuff we go through. He even watches out for the tiniest of birds, which tells me nothing too big or too small is beyond His reach and care.

My relationship and understanding of Jesus and who he is, has deepened in the last couple of years; what I thought I knew was only a small portion of who he is. I believe I’ve grown closer to Him, even when I thought I had wondered far, far away. I realized that my relationship with him isn’t based on some moral code or cultural standard but simply on his unconditional love and acceptance of me. Whether I love him back or not never separates me from him or takes me out from under his care. I don’t have to be perfect (whatever that means) for him to call me his friend.

Life is full of mysteries, and sometimes it’s just hard to make sense of it all. I’ve watched hearts ache and bodies break and wonder why it had to be. But after the pain, the peace always comes, without fail. I’m learning that the hard things and the bad things are just there to shape us into who we’re supposed to be and help us be all the more excited for the good. I’ve learned to cherish those good times and imprint the memories in my heart, where they’ll live forever.

So I’ll answer the question “Why” from the lyrics above. I’m not sure I know a proper answer, but here’s my guess. We’re all human beings whose spirits live in an imperfect world, in imperfect bodies with faulty minds. Sometimes we do get discouraged, but we somehow have to get up while encouraging ourselves and others. Sometimes we awake in a dark place, but we have to find the light, no matter what. Loneliness affects us all from time to time, but the Creator never leaves us alone. His seeming silence doesn’t mean he left.

We learn to be the best people we can, try our utmost to remember who we are, and accept that we’re not perfect. We must always hold onto hope, even when we don’t want to. Be yourself, love yourself, love Jesus, and love one another. And remember his eye is on the Sparrow, and he’s always watching over you.

Published by Jeff

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