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Unfamiliar

It sounds strange, especially as I write this… I feel unfamiliar with my own life. It’s easy to lean into caution and timidity, especially when life does not go according to how you have planned.

One year ago today, I spent a special day on Toronto Island with my family. It was what I wanted to do, the day before my surgery. Recently diagnosed with melanoma, I had no idea what was next – my future seemed to hang in the balance, and things that once felt familiar now seemed foggy. Would they be able to remove all the cancer surgically? I wanted to get away and center myself. Toronto Island is one of my favourite places on earth. From one side of the Island, you have a magnificent view of the city, and on the other side, there’s nothing but the great expanse of Lake Ontario. For me, being on the Island allows me to get out of my own head. Once the ferry pulls away from the city dock, I feel my chest begin to decompress. While it’s not a total escape from the world, it offers some solitude, and a place for me to have it out with God and to listen quietly.

As I walked along the shores of Lake Ontario, I repeatedly murmured, “I walk in the strength of the Lord,” (Psalm 71:16).

As we walk unfamiliar paths – when our own life seems strange to us, we can move forward in confidence knowing that we are in the presence of the Lord. He remains sovereign – even when everything else is uncertain, and it is only in His strength that we can take the next step forward.

One year later, and on the “other side” of that unfamiliar circumstance I can say with total confidence, “I will keep on expecting you (God) to help me. I praise you more and more. I cannot count the times when you have faithfully rescued me from danger. I will tell everyone how good you are, and of your constant, daily care. I walk in the strength of the Lord God. I tell everyone that you alone are just and good,” (Psalm 71:14-16).

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