There are seasons in life when the road is steep and the weather unforgiving. In those moments, many of us do what we must to do. We press hard on the brakes of our emotions. We steady our hands, quiet our tears and keep moving.

And sometimes, those brakes are a mercy.

God made us resilient. He knows there are moments when pausing is the only way to continue climbing the hill. Even Jesus walked with purpose toward the cross before He wept in the garden. There is grace in getting through the hard things one step at a time.

Emotions held back too long begin to gather like water behind a dam. Quiet pain becomes deep reservoirs. The disappointments, fear of the unknown and sadness pile higher and higher behind walls we built simply to keep moving.

But brakes were never meant to be permanent.

Then one ordinary moment comes: a song on the radio, a photograph, a quiet time in nature–and suddenly the dam breaks.

The tears come all at once.
The sadness rushes in.
The heart floods over.

And we wonder if we are failing because we could not hold it together anymore.

But perhaps the breaking is not failure at all.

Perhaps God stands beside us in both places: when we are pressing the brakes and when the dam finally gives way and all the hidden waters come pouring out. He is present in every day and in the pouring out.

Because God never asks us to carry it.

As I’ve read and heard throughout my life: God sometimes calms the storm, and sometimes He simply climbs into the floodwaters with us.

And somehow, in His hands, even broken dams become rivers that lead us back to healing and always into his loving arms.