I love this time of year. Around late Spring we usually have some bunnies who get comfortable in our yard. I adore them. For some reason, I get attached to them very quickly and deeply. They become friends. They hang out with me a little bit each day, and my yard becomes home base for them.

Usually, the ones in our yard are a little older, at least old enough to care for themselves. Last year we had a couple of adults. Unfortunately, they disappeared after a while because they got killed, or at least one of them did anyway. This year is a little different, though.

This year we had a mom who was hanging out in the yard—such a sweet one. Then there are two babies around. Last week my dad informed me he had found the mom bunny dead. Being a mom myself, my heart went towards those sweet babies.

I kept looking for them and didn’t see them for a couple of days. I began to panic inside a little bit. I would go to the window several times a day, just eyeing the yard for them, and nothing. Then I notice a brown patch down in the backyard. I couldn’t tell if it was the bunny itself or not. I kept staring at that spot over and over. At first, I thought maybe it was the bunny laying there like they sometimes do but then I thought maybe it was the bunny, but it isn’t alive anymore.

I was praying these bunnies would be alive. For some reason, I felt a little connection with them and a responsibility to keep them safe with their mom gone.

So I walked outside towards that brown spot, not knowing what to expect. The closer I got to the brown patch, I realized it was not the bunny at all, dead or alive. It was simply a brown patch in the yard.

I began to pray and ask God to show me if those bunnies were ok. I was a little troubled and scared something had happened to them. Not long after I prayed, I turned my head, and one of those sweet babies was munching on some clover over in the corner. A little later, I saw the other one and felt relief.

I sat with them for a little bit and went back into the house. As I walked into the house, I couldn’t help but thank God that when I feared death, He showed me life. When I thought something was dead, He showed me it was still alive.

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I was thankful for His personal gifts to me that day. I have struggled feeling like that over the last several years; many dreams have died. Things hoped for and longed for in this season of life. I have thought they died. There are places inside my heart that have felt dead. That same ache, panic, and discouragement have lingered in my heart over those things as they did over the bunnies that day.

In that visual that day, God showed me things that seem dead or I am fearing are dead are not. They are still alive. There is still life in those places that seem dead.

When I looked out the window at that patch again, the longer I stared at it, the more I began to go back to the old thinking. It looked so much like a bunny was in that spot. I had to remember the truth God had shown me when I was outside earlier.

We can do this with anything. If we stare at a situation or a circumstance, how it looks, seems, or feels can become the truth to us.

The more we stare at it, the more it becomes real.

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It is vital to hold on to those personal things God shows us. It is essential to remember God’s promises and faithfulness to us in every season. We must keep our eyes on Him and remember the truth.

Are there places in your life like that patch? Is the enemy having a field day in your mind and heart as you keep staring at the situations and circumstances around you?

How can we keep the truth in front of us? How can we keep our eyes on Jesus in tangible ways throughout our day?

For me, It is grabbing God’s Word, listening to worship music, or praying with a friend. Sometimes it is me going around just talking to God; other times, it is being still and knowing He is God.

There are days I have to try to get away from the situations and circumstances for a while. Taking a break when and where you can is healthy.

However, this happens for us it has to be intentional. Otherwise, our eyes will become fixated on the wrong things and the enemy will use it to talk us into believing the lies and our perspective becomes shaded.

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Yesterday, I looked and looked for those bunnies. I began to get worried about them. Last night when I took the garbage out, I spotted one of them. When I went to my bedroom to look out the window to see it, there was the other one. I sat and watched over them for a little while as they ate together, safe and sound. I prayed over them, thanking God for them.

This has been a hard two weeks. The depression battle has hit hard, things have felt dead inside, and it has felt hopeless to dream too much. These bunnies have brought some joy and company to me in this weird season of life. A constant reminder that God is still bringing life to me, even when it feels like death. He still has a purpose, even though I feel purposeless some days, and I am not alone because He is with me, and sometimes He brings sweet friends to sit alongside me some days.

If you are in a place where you feel like death is all around you in some form, or your perspective is shaded and it is hard to cling to the truth, please reach out. I would love to pray with you or for you. Let’s be a community here together, love each other through these hard places, and be a reminder of the truth to one another.