How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! Isaiah 52:7

I was praying this scripture out loud recently. Praying is an understatement. I was literally wailing out to God. Begging Him to bring some good news!

My heart was so weary and overwhelmed with all of the bad news. Text after text, newsfeed after newsfeed, phone call after phone call…

Will the bad news ever end?

As I was lamenting that scripture and the cries of my heart to The Lord, I heard a small voice deep in my heart.

The kind that makes you stop and listen.

A hush came over my heart. Like a mother shhh-ing her baby as she cries.

“I AM the Good News. Stop looking for good news everywhere else, look for Me. I Am the Good News.”

Something has been heavy on my heart the past few weeks.

College kids.

I have had many conversations with parents of kids in college recently and I see a similar theme.

A lot of our college kids are overwhelmed. They are struggling. Fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat.

When my oldest started college in 2019, I never dreamed the pressures that would soon follow.

As Christian families, we raise our kids in an environment that is often counter cultural.

However, when they go off to college, they are faced with a huge wave of cultural norms. Much drinking, partying, hooking up with the opposite sex, casual—super casual relationships with no strings attached.

It can be a shock to their systems.

They go back to their dorms, apartments, and try to process all of this new.

Along with the workload that college courses bring, the sheer weight of this new freedom and new setting can crush even the most disciplined and ambitious kid.

February is not my favorite month. There, I said it.

It is dark and cold and dreary and the days are way too short.

I like bright things and light things and sunny days and warm weather and yellow hearts Happy, bubbly, sunshine-y things.

February fails at this.

Twelve years ago, I had a precious friend that I met up with from time to time. We went to the gym together, playdates, birthday parties, all of the things that young moms do.

We were complete opposites. She had very dark, jet black hair and tatoos and several body piercings.

I, on the other hand, had bleached out blonde hair, not a hint of ink on my skin and consider a second ear piercing to be risque.

Despite our differences, we were great friends. I admired her so much as a mother. She loved her children, which happened to be the same age and same sexes as my children. One boy and one girl.

Several times when I was with her, I would try to bring up Jesus and salvation, but often chickened out. I decided that until God gave me the words and the boldness, I would just try really hard be a light to her and a good friend.

When our kids became more involved with school and other activities, we drifted apart.

A couple of years later, I got the news.

My beautiful friend had taken her own life.