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By Ann Farabee

On an early March morning in 1995, my family gathered around the bedside of my mother. She was on her final earthly journey, as she was heading to see her savior face-to-face.

All we knew to do as a family was to be present, to hold on to her, to pray and to sing.

This is a song I remember us singing to her that day:

Jesus loves me — this I know.

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong.

They are weak — but he is strong.

I wonder how Anna Bartlett Warner felt when she wrote these words. Surely they brought tears to her eyes. It was set to music by William Bradbury, who also added the chorus. She taught it to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy. Soldiers sang it on the battlefield. It became even more well known through a picture of a dying child being comforted by the words. Anna could never have had any idea of the hope and peace that song would bring to the world for generations to come.

The words are so simple: Jesus loves us. We know that because the Bible tells us. We are his little ones. We belong to him. We are weak. He is strong.

When my mother breathed her last breath, I never thought I would regain my strength. I was too weak. But when we are weak, we can become strong. How do I know?

Second Corinthians 12:10 says, “For when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my life.”

Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives strength to the weak.”

We all go through times of being weak. Some of those times may have been in seasons of difficulty: the death of a loved one, pain, sickness, disappointment, depression, discouragement, financial loss, fear, anxiety or a broken heart.

I am so thankful God has provided a way to give us strength in our times of weakness. How can we find that strength?

1. Pick up God’s word. Open it. Turn the pages. Read the words. The Holy Spirit will give our weakness strength through those words, for God’s word is alive and active, and still speaks to our hearts today.

2. Talk to the father. We may feel weak and weary. Our flesh and heart may fail us. But — we are his little ones. We belong to him. He wants us to talk to him.

Weak but strong?

Yes, we are.

Because God is our strength.

Because God gives us strength.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

By Ann Farabee

• Consider our ways.

How can we consider our ways? To consider means to think carefully about something. Ways means our way, our journey, or our manner. As we consider our ways, we could ask ourselves this question, “During my time on this earth, am I more concerned with my own needs than I am with fulfilling God’s will for my life?

Lord, help us to understand that we belong to you. Help us to consider our ways and make serving you our top priority.

Repeat as needed: Consider my ways.

• God is with us.

This is powerful. To even begin to understand that God is always with us is more than the heart can take. We are a friend of God. Do we deserve to be? No. But we are.

Lord, help us to truly grasp that You are surrounding us and that the Holy Spirit is living inside us. When we begin to understand, we will never be the same.

Repeat as needed: God is with me.

• We can be strong.

How can we be strong when we are so weak? We can be strong because God is with us. God gives us strength. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will give strength to his people. That’s who we are — his people.

Lord, help us to see that we do not have to toil or labor for our strength. Help us to remember that you give strength to us. It is a gift from our heavenly father.

Repeat as needed: God will make me strong.

• In this place God will give peace.

How can we have peace when our lives are not peaceful? Peace is inside us. God gives it to us. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Lord, help us to remember that you have blessed us with peace. Not just tomorrow’s peace, or yesterday’s peace, but peace in the place we are today — this place.

Repeat as needed: God will give peace in this place.

• The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.

Haggai spent much time encouraging the people to make the work of rebuilding the temple their top priority. It can be so easy to falter and without even realizing it not put God as our top priority — even though he makes us a top priority.

Lord help us to remember that this life is not about our earthly home — but is about the glorious kingdom not built by man. Thank you for the promise that you will make all things new and that the end will be better than the beginning.

Repeat as needed: The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.

This has been brought to you from the book of Haggai.

Read it.

It is only two chapters.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

By Ann Farabee

Walking in the grocery store felt like a privilege. Every color imaginable was there. There was even fruit! The colors seemed brighter than I remembered. Hmm? The grocery store is a beautiful place? I had never noticed it.

Until… I was no longer going to it.

There were people.

They thought no one was paying attention to them.

They thought no one was even noticing them.

They surely did not think anyone was appreciating them.

But I saw you. Some of you I knew. Most of you I did not. When I passed by you, I may not have even acknowledged you. We may — or may not — have said hello in passing.

But I felt like I knew you.

You were a family member buying food for a meal, sometimes with a child in tow.

You were the one who helps your child daily with schoolwork.

You were the one who leads them in prayer at night.

I have seen you volunteering — at food pantries, at organizations, at church, with youth sports.

I see you investing in lives of your children — and some who are not your children — so they can be successful.

I see you — the one who prays for many daily, and they don’t even realize it.

I see you — the worker that always goes beyond expectations. You are the pastor, the teacher, the nurse, the plumber, the cashier, the businessman, the mail carrier, the delivery man.

I see you — the exhausted parents — or grandparents — raising children.

I see you — caring for the elderly or the sick who need constant care.

I see you — the father — the grandfather — who always finds time to say yes, even if your tired body is saying no.

I see you making sacrifices daily for others.

I am so thankful we are not in this journey called life alone.

I smile as I think about you — those who would be at my doorstep in a minute if I needed you. And… I would be at yours if you needed me.

That is the way life is…

We are family.

Not always by blood… but family in our hearts.

Never feel that no one cares.

Never feel that no one notices.

We see you. We know how hard you work. We appreciate how hard you work.

We just fail to tell you.

Sometimes we even live in the same house — and still fail to tell you.

But we know. We are all doing the best we can.

We are still in the midst of a season of life that has been like none other.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says for us to encourage one another and build each other up.

Love and encouragement matters now more than ever.

Tell someone you appreciate them.

We all need to hear it.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.