“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” Psalm 118:24. I think that’s a beautiful verse of scripture. We should rejoice each day we wake with breath and acknowledge the day as a gift from God. Regardless of our circumstances we can find joy and gratitude through our faith in God’s grace. I’ve found a great quote about the blue sky and the sunset. “Day holds the sky with big blue arms until the sun sends her off in the evening with a grateful blaze of vibrant colors,” Terri Guillemets. Isn’t that a pretty thought. I can see the day’s arms wrapped around the sky then setting her down in a blaze of vibrant watercolors from Mother Nature’s paint brushes, ending the day with the sun’s burst of color.

Was watching The Rifleman this afternoon and I wrote down a quote from Lucas McCain — “Sometimes a man comes to a fork in the road, stumbles over a rock, and gets on the wrong path.” I think that’s true for a lot of us. We question our faith, walking down our own path without God’s grace, and as we start to stumble our lack of faith brings on the darkness. Now we’re lost wondering how to find the right path that will lead us out of the darkness.

No matter how dark the path were walking, God sees us. He is beside us every step of the way. He is aware of our difficulties. He hears our prayers and sees our tears. We don’t ever have to feel lost on our journey through life. When we come to a fork in the road we should be comforted in the fact that God is with us. God is pointing us in the right direction and walking right beside us. Through our prayers and thanksgiving we can feel God’s presence. We read in Isaiah that “people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of darkness, a light will shine.”

We also need to shine a light of our faith to help others walk in God’s light. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:13. We walk with God by keeping him at the center of our life and obeying his commandments. Scripture in Micah 6:8 reads, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” God holds our hands as we walk through life. We read in Psalm 37, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” As you walk into the sunshine of God’s love, be thankful if you stumble he’ll catch you by the hand.

Have you ever wondered why some people fall apart when they experience a trial in their lives and others manage to hang on and keep moving. Some of us don’t cope well with life’s trials and tribulations, falling into despair and depression. Others buck up and carry their loads on their backs and don’t break down. They’re weighted down but keep plodding along on life’s path, knowing they will eventually walk back into the light. C.S. Lewis said, “It’s not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.” Been pondering on this quote all afternoon. We never know what is weighing down our fellow life travelers. We should always put kindness first. Everyone carries different losses and different worries on their hearts and shoulders. Ezra Taft Benson writes, “If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.”

I’ve carried a few heavy loads on my shoulders and struggled with carrying the weight alone and also struggled with asking for help. It takes a lot of courage to get on your knees and ask for help when life gets too hard. My faith has been tested by tragedy but I know, when I decided to let the Lord take the weight off my shoulders, the sun began to shine in my life again. I put all that weight on God’s shoulders and prayed for peace. We all experience loss throughout our lives but how we deal with the loss determines how heavy the load. We all know life is not fair and is not discriminate. We can always give up and fall into despair and depression when we face troubles in our lives. We learn from these difficult situations we face but we always have the choice of asking for help. We can stand up and transfer that weight to God’s shoulders. Through his grace he will gladly help carry the weight.

We live in a beautiful world, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy, sometimes stormy, but with God’s grace we can weather anything life throws on our path. We not promised the days will always be sunny but when the clouds of storms darken on our path and life’s trials pour down like a rainstorm, putting ourselves in God’s hands through prayers and thanksgiving will help ease the storm and guide us to the sunshine. I truly believe with faith we can light the darkness.

“Those who walk with God, always reach their destination.” — Henry Ford