What's Your Buttercup Verse?

"Stay close to the house and do not go in the woods," Robin's mom cautioned us.

Minutes later her words flew out of our five year old heads and we flew into the woods. In no time Robin's house was out of view and nothing looked familiar. The reality we were lost set in, just as drizzles and dusk fell. We decided to abide by the golden rule when lost: Stay where you are.

So Robin and I sat our cold, scared selves down. Shivering tears fell as we discussed the possibility we may never be found. We were Buttercup without her Westley in the dreaded Fire Swamp! A bit dramatic in hindsight, but a grim reality as a five year old.

We sat a spell until one of us remembered our memory verse from school: Psalm 23. We recited it. Once. Twice. Three times. Over and over. And we prayed for Jesus to rescue us from the woods.

I'm not sure how long we sat there, or how we made it back to Robin's (that was a loooong time ago for this ol' brain!). What I do remember is the utter peace that overcame us as we prayed and recited our memory verse. Calm chased the fright away. Hope filled the despair. Joyfulness resumed its rightful place. Our Westley had come and rescued us from the Fire Swamp!

After all these years, Psalm 23 is still one of my "Buttercup" verses when I'm afraid, crave peace, or need a reminder of who Jesus is. And that brings me to my main point--

Knowledge and confidence in who Christ is -and- in His Word, is key to replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Somehow my little five year old self remembered and put this truth into practice better than my current self today.

Sometimes I forget He's still in the business of rescuing. When I forget, I am more likely to hop on those negative trains {of thought}. Maybe you struggle with this too? Perhaps our circumstances, relationships, weight, hope have changed or failed. The glory of it all is when all else changes, fails, is lost... Jesus has stayed the same, always prevails, and never leaves.

A beautiful place to start as a reminder of who Jesus is, is my friend Wendy Blight's blog. When you can, please hop over and soak in her utterly beautiful words {Warning: you may find yourself getting your praise on!}

Also, can I encourage you to choose and memorize your very own"Buttercup" verse... you know, one to recite when lost in the "Fire Swamp"? When you have yours, please share it with us! Thanks! I'm praying for y'all!