When Tough Times Come

“Why don’t you get a glass of water? You know where the bathroom is, right?” the middle-aged woman in front of me asked, as she fixed her eyeglasses that slid a little down her nose. She kept checking the computer monitor, making sure she had put in all the information I had provided.

“I’m sorry,” I softly uttered as I tried to wipe the warm tears that I couldn’t hold anymore.

“I had never been in this process but I felt it was coming. I knew that what they had been doing with me was not right.”

“It’s okay. You know what? You did the right thing,” she reassured. “Sometimes, you need to voice out and fight for what is right.”

I handed over some facts to her opened palms. She browsed and smiled, “I think I have all I need.”

Some people in power at work wanted to do what they thought was right. They sounded like they cared but the intentions were opposite. I sensed all those from the start. But I wasn’t caught off guard even if they thought they paralyzed me. They were not aware that I was constantly ready knowing that the battles rage all around me, day in and day out. They did not know that many times, I had fought back by bending my knees, tears flowing in darkness as I pled for His help. They did not know that my strength was not mine but of His. They did not know that whatever they planned to harm me would not prosper as He was the One truly in control from the start.

Here in this world, the fastest runner doesn’t always win the race. The strongest warrior does not always win the battle. The wisest does not always make the best decision nor give the best wisdom.  The richest does not always mean they feel that way, as their hearts are void of satisfaction and joy. Those on top does not always lead successful lives.

No one can truly predict when tough times come.  Birds are hunted by sudden grazing bullets in the air. Fishes get caught abruptly with a drop of a net. People, like those animals, can also be caught by sudden tragedies. Bad storms can come, disrupting the clear, azure skies, and so it is with our lives when trials suddenly come. There is no right time. There is no right place.

The only security comes from knowing God, our Refuge.Now, those people would have a lot of explaining to do because of the necessary step I took. Quiet. Short. But powerful. All because of His guidance and discernment. Thank You Lord!

^“1 God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.” – Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)