Sometimes you have one of those days, or weeks, or months where you just feel like an island. Untouched and untouchable. Like you are really in this life thing all alone. You may know in your head that the way you are feeling isn't true, but feelings are powerful things. They can trick us so easily.

Then there are times, like this week has been for me, where God just throws open the windows wide and airs out the musty corners of your life. Times where people seem to go out of their way to show you that you are loved and appreciated. Maybe it's a phone call from a friend that just leaves you feeling happy and refreshed. Maybe it's an outing, or a card, or an invitation. Maybe it's a smile or a handshake. Maybe it comes with forgiveness. But whatever God uses, it is so fresh and clean and real that you feel it all the way down to your toes.

I thank God for the times of refreshing... and I'm learning to thank Him for the empty times too. Because He is always there, always working for my good, and always up to something far better than I can ever know or imagine.