When my children were in Preschool and Kindergarten, they would come home singing a new little song every week that naturally stuck in my memory bank for years after. One of their favorites was “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt''. On this imaginary bear hunt, the explorers find themselves up against multiple obstacles. Every time they meet an unexpected challenge, they repeat the words, “Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, oh no, we’ve got to go through it!� My kids would repeat this little chant as they marched around the house encountering different obstacles having the time of their lives!

But if you’ve ever encountered a “real lifeâ€� obstacle â€"which we all haveâ€"the last thing we want to do is go through it! We have our daily obstacles of marriage and busy spouses, motherhood at all stages, or the ongoing pursuit of climbing the career ladder. Many of us are still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up! We all know a little something about going “through itâ€�.

Going “through itâ€� means not going around the difficult moments. It means not going over the loneliness, or under the exhaustion, or around the pain.  Instead, it's walking through those times looking for a way out of them, and more often than not, we have to fight our way through them.

The journey might feel all-consuming, but the “through years� will be a memory that will leave behind a defining mark in our lives worth looking back on.

If you take a moment to be still during that thick season of walking “through it�, you may just hear God whispering to you, “I’m here!�. After a night of vivid dreams and real-life worries, tell God about it and cling to His promise that He will be with you; you will not be overwhelmed; you will not be scorched, as long as you allow His mighty hand to guide you through it.

In this season, there is no around or over or under. There is only walking through with the Holy Spirit holding your hand the entire way. And like muscle memory, your soul will remember what it felt like and it may leave a mark, but it will also allow you to feel vibrant and alive and triumphant on the other side of this adventure. We will walk through, and we will not be consumed or overwhelmed. Claim that promise today!

Suggested Prayer: Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the Light: Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.² Amen.

1. Isaiah 43:2 (CSB).

2. “Precious Lord, Take My Hand� Thomas A. Dorsey, 1932.

Today’s Encounter was written by: Veronica B.