We hit San Antonio at just the right time for Goldilocks – not too hot, not too cold, just right. Warm weather normally expected in late May was bearable. The humidity we remembered from our days as San Antonio residents was mercifully low.

We had scheduled most of our activities during our trip so that we were either outdoors in the cool of the morning or indoors with air conditioning. But since the weather seemed to be so agreeable, we were lured into planning a late morning tour of an outdoor attraction. In retrospect, all I can say is, “Silly us.”

The renovated area we visited had once been home to a large brewery, warehouses, and parking lots surrounded by chain-link fences. It had undergone quite a transformation! Now, hip apartment buildings, restaurants, boutiques and shops, a lovely hotel, and a quaint plaza occupied the updated space. The famous Riverwalk bordered one side of the development so strolling and taking in the sights were a big draw for us.

We finished up breakfast at our hotel then headed off to our little adventure. (Tells you just how “adventurous” we are, right?!) The first thing we noticed as we walked from the parking lot to the indoor market was that the day seemed a bit warmer than the previous days. As we exited the market, the sun shone brightly. The heat was on! We stepped back into the shade to plan our next stop.

The food hall where we grabbed lunch was bustling and cool, but with broken hearts, we realized there was no available indoor seating. Out we went, grateful for the shade offered by a large awning. We settled in at our table, quickly draining our cold drinks and scouting out shops around the plaza.

God bless the owner of the small bookshop across from the food hall. We “browsed” for 20 minutes until our sweat dried then ventured on to the next air-conditioned space. As we rounded the corner of the plaza, we saw a colorful mural with the message: “You are exactly where you need to be.”

At that moment, my snarky inner self snapped that I was not where I needed to be! I was about to spontaneously combust, and where this old girl needed to be was in a room with a thermostat accurately reading about 70 degrees!

We ended up cutting our little field trip short so that we didn’t melt onto the San Antonio sidewalk like two scoops of ice cream.

Are you in a spot right now where you look around and wonder if you’re really where you need to be?

You’ve been “stuck” in this job/marriage/friendship for years…

That diagnosis came out of nowhere…

No one deserves to be betrayed like this…

Wonder if that precious child will ever return…

Being lonely for one more hour feels unbearable…

This grief is drowning you…

Your mind can’t stop racing with fear and anxiety…

Guilt is weighing on you like a six-ton elephant…

These scenarios are legitimately hard and heartbreaking. How in the world could you need to be here?

It’s because in those darkest moments, we’re best able to see pinpoints of the Light breaking through.

God doesn’t run from us in our pain and distress. He runs toward us. He may allow us to get to the end of ourselves so that we’ll finally find Him. We’ll discover that the things our hearts have most longed for are only found in Him – purpose, wholeness, faithfulness, identity, fellowship, comfort, peace, forgiveness, true love.

Every low place you ever find yourself is in the very place where Jesus will come looking for you – not to scold or chastise you, but to come beside you, put His arms around you, lift you up, and walk the hard steps of recovery and healing with you.

The pit where He finds you may not disappear, but Jesus will help you to build a wall around it that keeps you safe. The enemy may taunt, tempt, and haunt from the depths of that pit. But you are exactly where you need to be – rescued, redeemed, and held in the arms of Jesus.

*****

“The God Who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” – Acts 17:24-27

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:35-39

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20b