Be Still And Know

Romans 12:12 NLT 'Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.' Self-esteem and confidence are seen as key measures of our well-being. Our self-esteem can be dented by various mishaps; from social and economic factors through educational experiences and our relationships. Low self-esteem can reduce our ability to handle future challenges. Unexpectedly cast into the role of a primary carer in my late 30s, I suffered a collapse in my self-confidence. How was I to navigate this new, unfamiliar and unwanted path? It was clear that my hope in God was located in the immediate realities of my life, rather than any abiding reality that lay beyond my life experience now. And how might something that seemed so disconnected from my immediate experience be of any encouragement or help in the here and now? It was a season for discovering the realities of, and the benefits derived from, patience. Patience is the “quality of being willing to bear adversities, a calm endurance of misfortune”. I