Hold. Steady.

Hold steady.

These words were spoken to me 15 years ago, and I’ve never forgotten them. Two simple words quietly spoken to me in a parting hug from a woman who was a stranger just a week earlier. Two simple words that hold so much power because they point me to the One who has held me through some difficult days.

Her name was Molly. She was a member of a missions team that had come from the southern States to minister to our new church plant and to lead some community outreach events. She knew well the difficulty that was rooted in the words which she spoke to me; she had lived them.

Diabetes had taken her gift of sight as a university student. She married and had a son, but was then abandoned by her husband to raise her young son on her own. Later in life, diabetes took one of her legs. At the time I met her, it was clear the disease was taking more. Yet she was clinging faithfully to God her Rock, her eyes fixed on eternity and her faith standing firmly upon Christ Alone. I have yet to meet anyone whose face shone the light and peace of God like hers did.

She knew what it was to Hold Steady.

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When I took this picture, I was attempting to capture the frost crystals in the light of the morning sunrise. But as I looked at the completed image on my screen, the words “Hold steady” were brought to my mind. The busy, almost swirling background brings to mind the daily grind of life in a fallen creation – sometimes overwhelming with schedules and commitments, the sorrows and sicknesses that unexpectedly befall us, the war we Christians battle against our own flesh and sin. It can all be wearying as we try not to get swept away in this current of despair.

Yet these leaves. They are attached to a branch. And the branch is still, steadfast amidst the chaos. And so are the leaves. Holding steady against the swirling swelling tide that encircles them.

“Hold Steady” were her last words to me. Molly has since regained her sight. She died peacefully a few years later and stepped into glory where she now sees our Lord face to face. She held steady to the end, with great reward.

May you and I, dear ones in Christ, do the same.

Hold. Steady.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life…Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior, who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.“

Jude 20-21, 24-25