It was a hard, hard morning at my friends’ ranch. The ranch owners had just experienced a devastating loss in their family. I arrived to take care of the horses so they could gather together to grieve and not have to worry about farm duties. It was a foggy morning.
It felt as if Heaven was crying along with them.
I turned the horses out into the pasture, my heart so heavy and broken. I also needed to grieve, to cry. Somehow the damp and dreary fog was inviting. So I walked out and sat down among the horses, expecting to feel the darkness and the brokenness of the morning.
But something different happened.
The horses gathered around me and in the midst of these amazing creatures and the heaviness of the fog, I felt God’s peace descend on me. It was as if the fog was replaced by the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.
The horses felt it too.
We all just stayed present in that moment, my heart broken, yet lifted. My spirit was aching, yet full of peace.
And suddenly I knew, everything would be ok.
I knew my friends would be ok. I knew God had this, and He was near. The Bible tells us in Philippians that the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
And in Psalm 34:18 we see that God is close to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. Being a Christian does not mean that we are saved from tragedy. But when we place our faith in Christ, we are promised a supernatural peace and strength to overcome when tragedy strikes.
This is what we long to show the kids that come to NGHR. Many of the kids we see have suffered losses. Some which you can probably imagine, and some which maybe you cannot. Their losses look different than my friends’, but it's all loss.
We see the pain that so many of them carry, and we purpose it in our hearts to show them what relationship with God looks like. That in our hurt, in times of brokenness, He comes close and carries us.
He sees us.
I will never see fog the same way again. Now I see it as God’s presence, descending upon someone who desperately needs it, enveloping them in His peace and His strength.
Pray with me. Pray with me for the kids that come here.
Narrow Gate is a place for the kids who are down and out. We have made it our mission to be Jesus to them.
We want to proclaim the good news of Christ to the poor and to invite them to walk with the One who binds up the brokenhearted.
-Heather Lawson,
Program Director