The Comforter

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things." John 14:26 (NIV)

🌿

I thought comfort meant the absence of pain.

So when the pain stayed, I assumed the Comforter had not come.

I did not yet understand that You do not always remove the storm.

You sit in the boat with me until it passes.

🌱

I remember nights I cried myself empty, certain I was alone in the room.

But You were there, closer than my own breath, saying nothing, just staying.

That was You.

Not the miracle I asked for. Not the answer I demanded.

Just You, present, patient, refusing to leave until morning came.

I called it survival.

It was You, carrying me.

🌾

Forgive me for measuring Your nearness by how quickly my pain left.

You were never late.

You were never far.

You were simply willing to stay in the dark with me until I could see again.

Comforter, teach me to recognize Your presence even when the storm does not lift.

🌿

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for staying when I wanted rescue instead.

Thank You for the quiet company I mistook for silence.

Teach me to feel Your nearness in the waiting. Amen.

🌿