and then...SPLAT!

you're walking down the street and then...SPLAT! you smack your face on the ground because you tripped over the silly block of sidewalk that is raised at a particular angle that you usually know to take an extra large step over, but well, today wasn't one of those days!

you're studying really hard for a really important test and then...RRRRING! you get a phone call that changes your life because someone you know and love is hurt or sick or dying. and there is nothing you can do, but go back to studying for that test...and somehow studying doesn't seem as important now.

you're driving along the road and then...CRASH! you are hit by another car. the simple trip to the grocery store turns into broken limbs, hospital visits, police reports, a wrecked car, and financial burdens. there is anger, shame, and hurt. and it all happened so fast!

although these things or some rendition of them can happen at any time in our lives, we still walk down the street, we still study and work hard to accomplish our goals, and we still travel places. we live in a broken place. we are people who make mistakes, fall ill, hurt, and die. but we are also people who can live!

as my church has been going through the book of James, i have been challenged to live a life worthy of the calling to which i have been given by God. the book directly addresses the topic of suffering twice. suffering is here. we are either in the midst of it, coming out of it, or about to enter it. it can come in heavy doses or small amounts. suffering isn't fun. it's hard. and it's painful. it brings things to the surface that we usually avoid. it changes us. it creates in us a deep, soul-desire for something greater. something better. something bigger than this mess. something that can make sense of it.

in my own suffering i continue to have to look outside myself for strength because my body, worn from grieving, cannot sustain itself. some days i want to curl up in a ball and try to wake up from the dream that is my reality. in my weakness, i have had to call upon the Lord, my rock and my strength, to give me what i need for the day, like manna in the desert.

it isn't easy, in my flesh i build walls to protect myself. because some days answering a simple question of 'how are you doing?' is too hard. and i don't want to be a mess in front of people all the time. i want to appear like i've got it all together, but do any of us, really? we are just walking and learning as we go!

what i've been learning recently is that even if life is hard, HOPE is real. when the trials of this life knock us to the ground, that's where we need to be. we need to realize that we can't do this life without Him! the only One who has the power and the might to deliver us from death to life! the only One who reaches His hands down to pick up our faces so that we can look up and see His goodness in the midst of the hard.

and Heaven is real. no, i haven't been there. but i trust that the story of the Bible is true because God is the Author of it. and i have read the Bible and know that that place is my one, true home! originally Adam and Eve lived in paradise. everything was perfect. but one day, everything changed. trust was broken. lies were told. sin/brokenness entered the picture and since then God has been working to restore relationships, bring unity back to His people, etc. the Bible ends with that restoration. the place where there will be no more tears, pain, suffering. the place where we will be with God forever and worship Him for more hours than we can imagine. now, that's hope in a broken world. that there is a God who loved us enough to rescue us. to send His only Son, Jesus, to endure the eternal punishment we deserve. what MERCY. that He would withhold punishment to His children when they acknowledge Jesus as their Savior. and what GRACE. that He continues to rescue us even when we continue to try to do this life on our own. but not just rescue us, He gives us more. He blesses us abundantly. so in my weakness, His character is true. He is strong. He is love. He is powerful. He is good. He is gracious. He is merciful. He restores. He revives. He brings death to life. He brings beauty out of ashes. I could go on and on about the perfect character of my loving God.

Life knocks us down...SPLAT...but God picks us up, carries us, gives us the strength to walk again and one day He will takes us home! there is HOPE! so keep walking in Him!