Doh!
It’s hard to look beyond certain moments, especially when you are struggling with something.
I saw a meme yesterday that was a road sign saying “before you ask God for anything, thank God for everything.” We, (or maybe I shouldn’t assume more than just myself), long for the wonderful experiences in life - our wedding, the birth of a child, even successes at a job or a nice vacation. But maybe, just maybe, I’m missing the personal growth I’ve experienced by dealing with the non-wonderful experiences of life.
When we were first married and our son was born, we lived in the same town as both of our parents. We had the opportunity, and they had the opportunity, to see us often. It sounds like and was a wonderful experience. Then a job opportunity presented itself to me half the country away (in New Orleans) and we decided to move there.
It was a challenge because we knew the area we grew up in - knew how to get things done and, we had our parents right there to help us. Suddenly, we were looking for housing, daycare and many other things in an area where we knew almost nothing of. Our parents, being 12 hours away, suddenly could not help us daily like they had been. We were on our own.
I have heard my wife say many times (and I must agree), that if we had not have moved to New Orleans, we likely would have gotten a divorce. She realized that being newly married with a new born presents challenges to any marriage and being minutes away from either of our parents gave us an escape from dealing with whatever disagreement came up instead of discussing it with each other. Only by moving 12 hours away from the best family support network I can imagine, did we have to stop evading the disagreements and start addressing the problems. We’ve been married almost 39 years now.
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” - Isaiah 35:1-10 ESV
God promises us that he will be with us in all adversities and, at least as important, he’s already won the battle and will provide us with an eternity basking in his goodness and joy. In Isaiah, God tells us about all the bad things that are about to happen but also the promise of a better future for all God’s children.
