Bend in the Road
Do you sometimes feel like you have nothing left to give? It’s not necessarily that you are old, or “washed up”—a term that always conjured a picture in my mind of an old used seaman’s boot lost and washed up on some cold, windy beach—useless and worn, full of trepidation and fear—what happened to me? Where am I? Am I ever going to be of any use?
You feel you’ve done your best with what you have given, but you look within yourself and see nothing that could be of use to anyone anymore.
You see your dreams, broken beyond repair, useless it seems, to you or anyone else. They are the wings that you once promised you would spread and fly. You pictured places you would go, people you would see, lives that you would change, but now, they hang lifeless at your side, and you cannot find the strength to lift them in flight. Your heart is heavy with these broken dreams and hopes. At one time they were like rays that lifted your face to the sky and let you see the magnificent range of life—the promising sunrises and glorious sunsets, the pristine blue sky and the turbulent storms. You used to turn your face to the wind, close your eyes and let your spirit soar. But now…now, what is it all for?
You look outside of yourself once more and you see others smiling, laughing, charging ahead with life and you feel strangely detached, unable to relate to those happy creatures, full of purpose and meaning. Still, you wish… My life once had meaning, you remember. It was a beautiful feeling. You try to hold on to that feeling before it slips away—and yet, that is just what it does, almost before you had a chance to even reach out.
Is this where you are now? Or perhaps someone you know? There is a song that always brought that feeling of peace, that the person who wrote it believed—no more that believed…knew—in the words he wrote.
When you feel that you have nothing left to give
And you’re sure that the song has ended
And it seems there’s no reason left to live
And the darkness of night has descended
Where can you go to find the strength you need to keep on trying?
Where can you find the hand that will dry the tears your heart is crying?
Those tears that don’t even make it to the surface. They are too deep within for others to even see and understand, yet you cry them, all the same. The strength that you once had and knew you would use to change the world; now it seems it has turned to weakness and fear. Yet the song does not end there…for the song of your life never ends.
When you’re filled with hopelessness and sorrow
Looking at what seems to be the end
A voice will whisper to you, “Wait until tomorrow”
This heartbreak is only a bend, in the road
The road will continue past the bend
And you will sing as you go on your journey
Hope in your heart will burn again
And the light for which you are yearning
The light that will not only light your path, but help you light the paths of others. This is your purpose, although you might not yet realize it…or perhaps have forgotten it, leaving that calling hidden under the leaves and flowers of many springs, the hot sun of many summers, the falling leaves of many autumns, the snowy drifts of many winters—is it still there to be found? Your calling and purpose is there, along with hope, comfort and joy.
Be comforted to know that someone loves you
Who’s closer than any other friend
He whispers to your heart to reassure you
That happiness is just around the bend, in the road
Follow on, around that bend. I wish that I could see your face in the light of the new day that dawns in your heart. Someday, I know I will.
