So, California, This is See You Later

So, California, this is see you later.

I didn’t actually find myself lucky enough to call you the state of my birth.

Nope.

That would be Idaho.

Yep, I’m actually a potato head. Just in case you were wondering.

And California, though I was fortunate enough to call you home for around 51 years of my life, I’m not so loyal a fan that I can’t change my allegiance to another state.

I met the love of my life in the great state of Arizona, so a piece of my heart will always feel a bit of love for it even if I don’t actually call it home.

You have been the place where my roots have grown deep though.

I went through school here.

I found God here and gave my life to Christ here.

I went to Summer camp here.

I had my first crush here.

I graduated from grade school here and college too…

I learned to drive here and I learned to surf here.

My discoveries of love and passion for writing and photography occurred here as well.

I picked up my first job here and I spent the majority of my working life here.

I found out what the word infertility means here…

And I found the joy of adoption here.

I experienced what it meant to be a husband here.

And, I stepped into the adventure of fatherhood here.

I have been blessed to find myself invited into innumerable and precious friendships here.

I have had to give friends back to the Lord here.

Dear California, you have blessed me with sunrises and sunsets that breathed joy into my soul.

You have shown me wonders uncountable that confirmed to me the handiwork of the God I love.

But California, you have also shown me pain and sorrow.

In your soil, you hold the memories of many of those that I have loved and had the privilege to know in my short life.

You gave me employment and you took it away.

You saw my accolades and my promotions, my trophies and my abused emotions.

You oversaw the days where truths were spoken, but you also stood silent when I was the recipient of others lies.

You gladly accepted the days of my service on your behalf and yet you jealously held back your best care when I like so many others needed to be supported.

You accepted the service of lesser men and in violation of what’s right stole from me (and others) more than your fair share of the fruits of my labor.

You have changed from a land of plenty to one that like some ancient vampire continues to drain the life from the very ones who have made you great in the first place.

So, California, I have mixed feelings for you.

Though I have much to be thankful for in having lived here so very long, I also have much that I will not miss.

Traffic… smog… crowds… ridiculous taxes… Socialists… Leaders that aspire to be dictators… Santa Ana winds… earthquakes… and expensive gasoline!

But, dear California, I will probably miss a lot more than I won’t…

I will miss your mild weather, your amazing sunrises and sunsets, your beaches and the waves that I so enjoyed riding, your mountains that were so near I could be in the ocean in the morning and the mountains in the afternoon, your incredible diversity and the cultures that I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t introduced us, your love of the arts that assured that I’d come to love writing and photography, your overabundance of attractions that I could get to by car in a matter of minutes.

But above all California, you were the cradle that held much of my family. You are a place that houses so very many people that I care about.

As I leave this great state, I leave behind many that I love and care about.

But this is not goodbye forever, this is just a heartfelt “see you later!”

So, Dear California, I leave a piece of my heart here. I have roots planted deep that will not easily be transplanted elsewhere.

I will look back with fondness and I will certainly shed some tears as I start my journey to the new adventure that is Texas.

As the years flow by and the new adventure becomes the new normal.

As new friends and new experiences come, I pray that the lessons learned from days gone by in my fading memories of California, I will be filled with thankfulness for the times spent in the warm sunshine of the golden state.

See you again someday California…

This Hope is Not Dead!

Erosion.

Wind. Rain. Heat. Cold.

The forces that beat against this frail structure…

My soul…

Yes, I feel them.

And yes, sometimes, I falter and stumble.

But I do not walk in these storms alone.

For you oh Lord have promised to be there in life’s storms with me.

Never to leave nor to forsake.

Even to carry me when I’m too weak to carry on.

I admit it… sometimes these mountains before me make me tremble.

Sometimes I am overcome with my fears…

But, fear is a natural response and I am not alone in these battles.

And my Savior whispers into my ear…

“I will go before you and defeat your enemies!”

And He whispers again… “Do it afraid!”

So, I push into these fears and I choose to act.

Afraid? Yes.

But moving forward anyway.

I want that to be my story… “He did it anyway.”

And so I tell you…

I don’t confess to understand the why’s of my life every time.

I sometimes know the how’s for sure.

Without the risk of failure, how could winning ever be as sweet as it is?

To never fail is to never try and that is not the stock I am born from.

I pray that it’s not the stock you’re born from.

So, this hope of mine is not dead, though sometimes it may be frail and weak.

The anchor I cling to is not weak, nor does it ever fail to sustain me.

And so I choose this day and each new one yet to be, to live in hope and in the fearless shadow of the Lion of Judah!

Seize the day!

Mike <><

Your Unique Fingerprint

The light rushes in.

It fills our eyes.

We’re greeted with unfamiliar noises.

Including our own cries.

On the day of our birth, we enter this World with nothing.

No clothing. No toys. No pets. No jewelry.

Just us.

And, we bear the fingerprint of our Maker.

We reflect the image of the one and only God.

Somewhere along the path of life, we fall into forgetfulness.

Our mind and soul sometimes feel the ache though. We sense something is missing. We catch glimpses of this hole in the middle of our being.

Then begins the quest. The quest of our lifetimes. And, a great many of us struggle in that quest, never quite coming to grips with an answer.

Some of us are fortunate and are pointed in the direction of the answer to filling the hole in our souls. We encounter someone else who having found the solution to filling the hole, have a sense of mercy and a desire to pass on what they have found to us.

A commission of sorts… to plant seeds and guide lost souls…

The great commission… the mission given to us by our Savior.

So…, don’t keep it a secret… go share what you have been given freely.

Pass on what you have learned about The Way, The Truth and The Life…

His name is Jesus…

You Banned God! How’s that Working for You?!

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before[a] me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Ex 20:2-4

Nowadays, I really don’t enjoy politicizing things very much. I don’t have a desire to draw a line and then have to be talked down to, patronized because of my perceived bias or white privilege, disallowed an opinion for any number of newly coined reasons that typically are tied to not my ancestry, but rather skin color. Or, maybe it has something to do with my political views, my Christian World view, or my intolerant, homophobic, misogynistic, capitalist, racist, or blah.. blah.. blah views.

I’ve lost my patience for anyone that tries to put me in a box and dismiss my views as irrelevant, antiquated, or counter to their group-think (read mob) mentality.

For goodness sake people… think for yourself for a change!

The other side now almost always seems to roll down this ridiculous slippery slope filled with unsupportable non-facts and weak arguments that sadly (for them) all seem to lead to one conclusion… “never-Trump”, he’s not my president, “Impeach!!!”

What the other side often can’t hear coming from me or any other reasonable conservative, due to their incessant screeching and attempts to drown us out, is that many of us don’t exactly love Trump, nor agree with his often loose lips… both in front of a mic, or on social media (in particular, Twitter).

However, they also foolishly write we conservatives off because they miss many (any?) of the accomplishments that “our president” has managed to broker during his hotly contested presidency.

Now, that was a very convoluted and rabbit trail sort of thing to do when I just want to address something that I heard the lieutenant Governor of Texas speak about the other day.

Now this truly is a dead horse that I’m beating here… Truly…

Guns…

People… People… People…! They are not the problem folks.

It’s the person standing behind the gun. The person pulling the trigger. It’s their heart condition. It’s their mental condition. It’s their spiritual condition.

If you do not address the people problems that lead up to these tragedies, then they will never stop and they will only continue to increase in their frequency and the body count.

The lieutenant Governor of Texas made a lot of statements on a news program that I saw a clip of.

The gist of what this gentleman was talking about centered around what has become like a tragic comedy of political posturing and over politicizing every time one of these mass shootings occurs.

The political bantering and in-fighting is just a giant and irresponsible waste of time.

Though there may be a better way to enforce gun laws and a better way to control background checks and how the findings in those checks are used to determine a person’s eligibility to purchase a weapon, all of the checks in the world aren’t enough to guarantee that a person who buys a gun in all ways, legally, won’t later snap mentally and commit a crime with that gun.

The core argument of this man was this though: Our media has so attracted our young people and so glamorized violence and killing, that when many of them choose to play video games (for instance) rather than going to meet with God at church on a Sunday, then what result do we actually expect to occur in our society?

My observation is this: We gradually spiral out of control. We give up just a little more of the good that dwells within humanity, because of the image of our creator that we bear.

As a nation, we have allowed God to be kicked out of our schools, thrown out of our halls of justice and just about any other place where He could have a positive influence on our behavior. We cannot expect that we can maintain any long-term hope of positive change through legislature alone.

You cannot legislate nor regulate the human heart.

God has said that our hearts are ultimately sinful (we miss God’s mark). In other words, our hearts are wicked and drawn towards evil.

We are in need of a savior and His name is Jesus Christ.

There is no victory over the evil in people’s hearts without God in the solution.

You can disarm this nation and remove every privately owned gun and people will still find ways to commit these evil acts of violence on each other.

Only with God’s help, intervention and intercession can we ever hope to win the war against gun violence in our nation.

"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Jer. 17:9

We cannot trust to our own hearts or our own understanding. We must go to God for His guidance on solutions to reducing gun violence in our nation.

As followers of Christ, we must all seek to become His hands and feet to serve humankind around us each and every day.

We must be the light and the salt to a lost and misguided world.

So, dear old World… you may choose to ban God in many of the venues that you think you control, but I have news for you. Your control is an illusion.

The more you attempt to push God out… the more that those who love Him will seek to shine His truth and love for all others to see and experience…

Seize the day!

Mike <><

Letting Go

I was sitting there…

Listening to our pastor this morning.

And, to be fair to our pastor, I was listening and enjoying what he had to say.

However, during one part of his talk this morning, my mind drifted and I realized with some great sense of loss, that my family and I are in a season of letting go.

I won’t go into all of the specifics, but several times this past week, we each had to give up something that we didn’t necessarily want to give up, but we did it anyway because sometimes in order for us to move on to something better, we’re required to leave something else behind.

I have found in this life that it is extremely rare that we can keep everything from the past and still get to move into something new and beneficial.

This year has had its joys. It’s had its sorrows. And, it has seen us leaving much of what we thought was not going to change, behind.

I’m not sure where each of you is in your journey through this life right now, but I can assure you that if you have not experienced the loss and the sorrow of giving up things that you thought were good and had benefits for you, you will one day.

And, when you do reach that point of letting go…

You don’t have to walk through that fire alone. Jesus stands ready to walk through it with you.

Now, He may not answer your prayers the way that you thought that he should, but he’ll answer them just the same.

We often make the mistake of thinking that just because God did not answer our prayers the way we thought He should have, that somehow our prayers have gone unanswered.

That is simply just mistaken.

I have found that God always answers us.

Sometimes though, we just fail to see it.

You see, a “no” as an answer to our prayers is still an answer just the same.

So, there is a question that begs to be asked by you and I when the answer from the Lord is no.

Will you still follow Him? Will you still bow before Him and acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior when He has not removed the cup of your sorrow from you?

My prayer for you at this wee hour of the morning is this: “That no matter what answer you (or I) receive from God, that we will still bow before Him and acknowledge Him for our Lord and Savior no matter what answer He gives us regarding our current trials.”

Stand strong in your faith, knowing that we can depend on God and His love for us.

Seize the day!

Mike <><

I’ll leave you with the following verses for your encouragement today:

13Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us c from Your Majesty’s hand. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:13-30 NIV

Knowing the Future is in God’s Wheelhouse

Here I am again…

It’s late at night and I find myself feeling restless… sleepless…

My mind has no brakes and my brain is often in overdrive.

Such is my life and I understand that often this is the life of a person who lives with ADD, ADHD.

And even though life is not perfect, it’s my life and I’m Ok with it. God’s got this. God’s got me.

Does He have you?

Lately I’ve been pondering about my life. About who I am. About whether I seem to fit in any particular place in this World.

I have often felt adrift in this life. I have many times felt that I either had no defined purpose or that I just didn’t understand my purpose. My why…

And, I’m not saying that I have now had some epiphany or a revelation… but… on the other hand…

Maybe I’m beginning to get a glimpse… a foretaste… of just what it might mean to accept myself… flaws and all. To love myself just a little. To forgive myself for not being perfect. And, to realize that our God never asked us to fix ourselves before we came to Him and asked for Him to come dwell in our hearts with us.

__________________________________________________________________________

Did He not say in scripture:

“Romans 5:7-11 The Message (MSG)

6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!”

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Understand that I am not suddenly and in a bombastic or prideful way saying that I deserve God’s forgiveness nor am I cowering in some false humility or insincere crocodile tears to gain your sympathy regarding how I somehow ought to be welcomed into God’s kingdom.

Rather, I am acknowledging that after much prayer these last several months, I am beginning to comprehend that because of God’s love for me when I was completely broken and far from able to even begin to understand the extent of His grace in my fallen state, I can now begin to accept myself, my uniqueness and the gifts God has bestowed on me for His glory.

You must understand that nobody more clearly sees their flaws and shortcomings than I do. I’m sure that some of you can relate to being your own worst critic. I’m not proud of it. It’s just a fact.

We must ask God for the insight to see past the sometimes-obvious challenges that we face in being who we are and just love ourselves for the unique people that God formed us into.

Now, this is not to say that we don’t seek to improve those areas where we have shortcomings, but rather, this is to see the difference between a weakness of character and the unique personality traits and giftings that He has granted us to add salt and light to an often dark and flavorless World.

I am more and more through each passing day finding that in helping others and making a positive difference in their lives, I find my purpose. I am finding the little ministries that my heart longs for. And I am content when through me, God is able to lift someone else’s spirits and fulfill their needs.

When we find ourselves useful and being used as a tool in God’s hands, it becomes much easier to look in the mirror and to realize that we’re Ok and that God loves us. We can find contentment even when our life is not perfect. Even when the circumstances of our lives right at the moment aren’t fitting the picture that we had in mind.

So my prayer for you…

For those who were brave enough to read this far into my blog…

I pray that God meets you right where you’re at and that He turns the mirror to your face… to your soul… and that you catch even just the briefest glimpse of the person He sees. The very much-loved son or daughter that He uniquely crafted and gifted for great things to do on His behalf in this World.

May your purpose be revealed. May your Why become clear. And, may you be used as a most effective tool in the loving hands of the One who breathed life into your lungs and sustains you each and every precious day of your life.

Go and live your best life. Start today.

In Christ’s love,

Mike <><

A Joke as a Weapon

I wandered over to my Instagram feed this evening.

Mostly to review any new and fabulous photos that may have been posted by the many photographers that I follow throughout the day today.

And…

My eyes and heart were confronted by what someone in my growing group of people that I follow and some who follow me…

…by…

A picture.

From my perspective, a picture that I thought was rather innocent and quaintly honoring to mothers. Mothers who in relationship with their God, spend time on their knees in prayer for their families, their friends and the world at large.

I would not have even thought to make an ugly, perverse or otherwise dishonoring joke about it.

But, this person certainly did.

Most of the time. Especially nowadays, I usually just would have made a comment to myself about people being… idiots, jerks, perverts, over-indulged and irresponsible brats… and then let it go.

But, this time I didn’t. This time I waded in and said what was on my heart.

I am not close to this person and I cannot claim any particular friendship, but because of family connections, I would call them… extended family.

And, for that reason, as well as the fact that this person is young enough to be my own child, I chose to call them out.

You see, we live in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to people of faith… people who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

And, no, I don’t expect everyone to believe as I do, or to accept what I say at face value. I know very well that I am imperfect. I know very well that my tongue and my pen and my computer can and have gotten me into trouble.

I’ll say it again… I’m not perfect… but God is perfecting me. I’m a person who is not without sin and I need God’s help every single day to live as I ought to. And, I don’t always get it right. This side of eternity, I don’t expect I will.

All that rabbit trail being said, I forgive this person for their rudeness and thoughtless use of an off color joke to make fun of those of us who put our faith into action through prayer… and yes, sometimes physically on our knees in reverence and humility before the God who created us.

We are fighting battles you see. Battles for our world that many others don’t ever witness. Battles for our loved ones that go unnoticed and unappreciated by those that may even be the subject of those very prayers.

They don’t understand. Maybe they never will. But God does. And He notices. And He hears.

I chose not to call this person out here. And I won’t. I did call them out on Instagram. And though it may temporarily earn me some grief from them or the others who joined in the “ugliness” in mocking those of faith. I won’t take back what I said. I said it in a certain sense of humility, and I told the truth.

We’re not expected to crawl in a hole when the truth needs to be said.

And, we don’t have to pretend that we approve of someone else’s bad behavior. Sometimes it needs to be called out, even at the risk of our becoming a target of further bad behavior.

Nobody who’s called out for doing wrong will react very well, at least not initially.

But, we cannot, must not, live our lives in fear and act like it’s ok for those who do not believe the way we do to mistreat us and pretend that it’s ok.

What will happen tomorrow when this other person sees what I wrote? I don’t know.

But I do care.

Because ugliness. Whether it’s disguised as a thin attempt at humor or not… is just ugliness.

I encourage you today and every day to honor those who go before you. Those who have fought battles on their knees in prayer for you and others.

Honor your Mom today and every day. After all, it’s Mother’s Day isn’t it?

As always… Seize the day!

Sincerely,

Mike <><

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.…  Ephesians 6:11-13

Living with Our Weakness

I know…

You read the title of this piece and you’re going… wait… wait just a minute Mike!

Mike are you suggesting that we just curl up into a fetal position and accept our frailty and inadequacy to the point where we don’t even try?!

Well, … ye… No! Of course not!

But I am going to say that in being human, there is an inherent frailty and weakness that is just reality.

We are finite. We are flesh and blood. We are susceptible to illness, disease, accidents, old age, violence and the collateral damage of war.

Argue with the facts all you want but life is in fact a terminal condition.

Until God fulfills the events of the book of Revelation, we are all subject to death.

Now you’re saying to yourself that I must be losing my mind. I mean, why would Mike travel this road? Why would I write about something this depressing or morbid?

Because it’s just reality. And at some point, you will be confronted with the realities that surround the final moments of this fragile, precious thing called life.

Unless we live long enough to experience the Rapture of the ones who love Jesus and we are carried away in an instant to be with Christ, we will all experience what it is to breath our last breath here on Earth. We will experience the surrender of the bonds that bind our souls to our bodies.

I have only really experienced this twice in my lifetime personally.

And, I can tell you that this process of our dying will never be easy. It can seem peaceful depending on how we physically leave, but it can also be very traumatic and even violent.

Do you understand though, that death was brought about because of the curse that is original sin?

The sin of Adam and Eve has passed on to all of us that are their distant relatives.

But of course, there is hope for us. And this hope has a name… His name is Jesus. We cannot save ourselves from death. We cannot do much more than sometimes prolong our inevitable end through medicine, through surgery, through radiation or dietary treatments. Prolong life yes, but prevent our eventual demise, absolutely not.

So, the question then becomes, how will you or I confront our mortality? Our date with destiny?

Will we do all we can to run from the reality of our passing? Or, will we confront the inevitability of our coming date with destiny and instead savor the precious time we have left here and invest our moments wisely in the others around us, especially our loved ones?

It’s your choice you know.

You see, God gave us our free will, and we can always choose how we react to a situation. Yes, we can definitely make a choice in regard to how we approach death.

However, please understand this. I’m not remotely suggesting that death is easy, or that you are somehow messed up because you haven’t handled it the way that thought you would.

Death is actually pretty hard. It’s painful and it’s traumatic. It’s an experience from the perspective of those left behind that will rock your world and leave you changed. Because it in fact leaves scars for those left behind.

Even Jesus carry’s scars from death.

But His scars are different than ours.

Our scars are the scars of separation and sadness. His scars are ones that speak of victory and hope!

You see, whether you accept this or not, Jesus’ scars speak of the conquering of death. For Jesus did not remain dead. He rose from His grave and stepped from death and it’s supposed victory over Him (and us) into new life. Eternal life!

Most of us will experience death here on Earth. Whether it is our own or that of another, we will go through the valley of the shadow.

But the question remains. Will you experience death as the passage from this life into a beautiful new existence through Christ and eternity with Him, or will you experience the painful passage from this great struggle of life into the darkness and separation that is judgement and hell?

You see, our weakness and frailty is just a given. It is a part of our human condition and existence. In accepting this weakness and turning it over to God, we are promised that our weakness will be made a strength. And I believe that the strength we can experience is that of our Lord Jesus living in us and enabling us to walk through whatever trials that life may throw at us. Even the greatest trial which is our journey from death into eternal life.

May each of us find on that coming day, the strength that can only come to us through our Savior Jesus Christ!

Go boldly into the new day my friends!

Seize the day!

Mike <><

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.…” – 2 Cor 12:9-10

It’s Never Easy, but it Will Eventually Get Easier

So, it’s the eve of Easter, 2019.

And here I am finding it once again a little hard to fall asleep on this night.

My thoughts are swimming and I find myself dwelling on the very recent loss of a new friend.

No death is every really easy. No death is leaves us completely at peace. There is always going to be grief.

And so it is with the passing of this recently acquainted friend of mine.

I spoke with him and had some really great conversation on a Tuesday evening and looked forward to a group get together later that week.

Less than 48 hours later I received a text that he’d gone home to be with Jesus late the night before.

This was one of those passings that was just so unexpected and tragic that it left me. Yes me…

Truly speechless…

When I told Julie the news, she actually cried out… a raw moment of anguish… we just couldn’t believe the news.

I remember immediately going to God in prayer and both of us struggling just to produce any words.

Sometimes the passing of a friend or loved one will hit you that way. There are just no easy answers. There’s just not any cliché that would ever bring real comfort.

For those who loved this man, I can speak of God’s love for him. I could speak of God’s peace and comfort for those who mourn.

And, don’t hear me wrong or misunderstand me when I say that I fully believe that God can bring His peace that passes all understanding during these moments in our lives. Because He does…

I have personally experienced His peace at times of great personal pain and anguish…

But, despite my previous personal experience, I cannot write off or diminish the very real pain that this man’s long-term friends, his loved ones and his co-workers are now feeling…

There’s no easy nor cliché answer to those who have prayed prayers over someone for deliverance, or healing or some kind of rescue when it does not come.

I’m going to say something here. I’m not sure if it will offend anyone or make you think any less of me, but here goes…

There are times and there are circumstances where we simply may not be given an answer or explanation by God for why something plays out the way that it does. We may never know this side of eternity why something happened here in this life the way that it has.

I’m not even sure that God owes us any explanation for what He allows to happen in this world.

And no, none of that brings any easing of the pain and loss right now.

Despite the pain that I feel right now in the passing of my friend, I am placing my confusion, my momentary feelings of anger (I’ll explain that in a minute), my frequent moments of grief, at the foot of our Savior’s cross.

I have no answer for why this happened. I am comforted that God is walking with us (with me) through this time. I am comforted by that fact that He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. I am comforted by knowing that when grief is just too much, that He will carry us while we don’t have the strength to face our sadness and loss.

Now, I mentioned anger… yes, anger regarding this loss.

And, this is not the first time I’ve experienced anger in my grief. Anger is a natural part of grieving. We (I) feel the sting of our lost relationship with the passing of our loved ones. We feel robbed of all the potential of what the future could have been had they stayed.

All that to say, that God is not afraid of our anger and our questions. He understands our grief and how we experience life better than we do ourselves.

So I say to you. When you are feeling all the many aspects of grief and sorrow, go ahead and share those with God. Pray through your thoughts and feelings and you may start to find that God will bring the peace and comfort you seek whether we receive answers to our lingering questions or not.

I’m not going to lie… the tears have flown today. A couple of times and somewhat unexpectedly too. Grief seems to be that way. It comes and goes in waves.

It’s Easter time. And our pastor reminded us tonight that the cross, though it is certainly a symbol for what Jesus was willing to do to free us from the bondage of sin, it may not be the most important symbol regarding our faith and hope.

Our pastor argued that really the most important symbol regarding our faith is this:

That our Jesus did not stay dead… He rose on the third day and the tomb was left empty!! Hallelujah!!

So the biggest symbol of our faith is just that… the empty tomb and a risen Savior!!

With that, I leave you with this…

Grief will never be easy… I’m pretty sure that it shouldn’t be easy either.

Could it be that grief is yet another experience by which God ensures that when we weather the storm of grief, that we are refined and become stronger and better people, better reflections of His love to the World around us?

After all, we like diamonds cannot hope to become what God intends us to be without fire and pressure.

So, my prayer is this, that as we go through the many griefs that will assuredly come into our lives, that we go to our God in prayer daily and ask Him to carry us, especially when we are filled with confusion, anger and the roots of bitterness. Jesus was and is well acquainted with grief and can come alongside us to provide all that we need so long as we are prepared to receive it.

If you are going through a time of grief right now, I pray that you can come to a place of comfort and the peace that passes all understanding despite that knowing that right now there are no easy answers as to why your loved one was called home so soon.

It’s my prayer now that God will bring you an extra measure of peace as you read and reflect on what I’ve written here.

In Christ’s love,

Mike <><

Isaiah 53:2-4  “He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows..”