Darkness

We have all experienced suffering. It’s part of life. Even though I sometimes wish things were different, Christians aren’t immune to suffering. Actually, God uses these times to teach us amazing things.

In the past two years, I have personally experienced three major sufferings. The third one is/was so sad/devastating that the first two seem small in comparison. The ones that now seem small include the "almost" loss of a child and a divorce so you can imagine the scope of the third. I’m not yet ready to write about the third. Maybe I will be - someday. Not now.

How do I know that God teaches us things? Because God has a plan. Can I see the full plan today? Nope but I am starting to get some ideas. Honestly, these are all just guesses at this point.


I think God uses challenging times to prepare us for something that we’d never have recognized on our own. Some would view this as a "sick" approach but I don’t think so. Yes, I wish that my family could have avoided all of the pain associated with these three situations BUT I know that we have a good God and He can/will make good out of these circumstances.
The challenge now: It’s on His timeline and not mine.

You:
If you are traveling through one of those dark times, may you see King David's life/offspring as an example. Even when things in his life did not go as desired/planned, God brought good out of the situations. For example, Jesus was a descendent of David & Bathsheba – a relationship that was not started in a healthy manner!

I often wish God would just “fix” the challenging situations in my life but then I remember, He’s teaching me something.

I need to be:
-Patient
-Faithful
-Observant
-Learning
-Action-oriented
-Faithful (I could say that one over and over!)

May you find joy in the cup of sorrow. May you have a fresh perspective filled with authenticity and courageousness.

May you continue to live your life with passion and purpose. It's always about purpose - even in the darkest of days.

(Yes, I know this books is about the women in Jesus' lineage and that most people this week have/will write about a woman's influence. I just felt lead to write about this topic - a very real one in my life right now.)

Summary:
Christians are not promised an easy ride – actually, quite the opposite.
Seek Him (even when you don’t want to!)


Peace be to you.