I've always known what it's like to have Someone in my life who would never let me down. You'd think after all this time I'd figure out that He's the only one.
I'm not a fast learner. No matter how many times I allow my trust to drop an anchor in worldly seas—in a friendship, a hobby, a passion, a person—I'm always left floundering when that anchor doesn't hold and God reminds me, once again, that He is the only one I can really, truly rely on.
Maybe I don't appreciate that fact of faith enough; maybe I take it for granted, and that's why I lose sight of it so easily. The point is, in those moments that hurt so much, when that friendship falls through, or that hobby turns sour, or that passion becomes pointless, or that person I really want to admire turns out to be unworthy of it . . . those are the moments I remember Who to turn to. Who is always there to turn to.
God's patience floors me. His forbearance and gentleness astound me. He has every right to punish my flightiness, my distraction, my inconstant focus on the One who spoke the world into existence, and knitted me together in my mother's womb. But He doesn't. He waits. He lets me chase the empty wind until I exhaust myself and collapse at His feet, asking for forgiveness and comfort. He lets me sail into tempestuous waters, chasing mythological wonders like perfection in an imperfect world, and then comes with his lifeboat to pick me up when my ship of misplaced faith capsizes.
And I'm so, so thankful. Not only for God's goodness, but for the hard lessons He allows me to learn. For those moments of hurt that bring my attention back to Him, that remind me of why He is the only one, why He can only ever be the only one.
When all else fails, He doesn't. He's the only anchor that will never come loose, the only compass that never steers wrong, and the only ship that is truly unsinkable.