Pressing On

If you hadn't noticed, I stopped posting my "Best of Blogs series" this week. I'll get back to it, but it just didn't feel right at the time. Because on Monday, 26 people at my work got laid off. Including some of my closest friends. I just couldn't bring myself to blog as normal - or do much of anything as normal. I was in shock.

I'm thankful that I didn't lose my job. But at the same time I've been really mourning the loss of so many great partners in ministry. It's been this tension between hope for the future of Group and my career there, and this sense that the people I thought I'd be journeying with towards the future of Group are gone. On Monday I couldn't work at all. I felt too emotionally heavy. Tuesday wasn't much better, but I was in cleaning mode. I got out the cleaning supplies and scrubbed people's desks. Because I couldn't focus on real work, and I wanted to do something, and that felt like something I could do.

And then in my car, listening to my CDs on random, this song sung by Nicol Sponberg came on. It's given me comfort in tough times before, and it did so again. And I felt like maybe it would give comfort to the people who were let go Monday, too.

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on
To press on