Why? ... Why NOT?

II Corinthians 1:3-4 -- "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble."

At The Cummer taken by Kelly S Dalton

Just finishing up the kitchen dishes I peek into the office and see my fifteen year old hunkered down over the desk in a strenuous tug-of-war with a math problem. Right about then, I hear the garage door go up, followed immediately by my twenty year old just getting in from working his over-night shift at The Wal-mart Neighborhood Market. I can almost feel my cheeks flush with the pride that seems to ooze out of me in that moment. I praise the Lord and whisper a prayer of thanks -- I am very richly blessed with these two. I am very richly blessed by their Dad. I am just plain, very richly blessed.

I may forget that when I'm grossly startled to find that one of my three guys left the toilet seat up again or I discover three feet of garbage spilling out onto the floor next to the trash can -- but the whole inspiration for the Breaking Daily blog from the get-go was that I endeavor to be a more thankful person. So I'll remind myself that the guys DID remember to lift the seat and that the same group of guys that forget to take out the trash provide me with the most joy I've ever had in my life. After all, it would be a lonely thing for the thrash can to out-grow the trash for once - it would mean fewer people in my household. I thank my wonderful Father in Heaven that I have clutter to pick up off the floor and a mountain of dirty clothes under the bed in my son's room. [I wondered how he "cleaned up" so fast.]

I know someone who had that particular burden taken from them before they could even experience it. A fellow missionary kid and close friend of mine in high school lost her newborn to a birth defect. When it was learned that there was nothing the hospital could do to save the baby, this friend of mine and her husband drove home with their precious bundle and rocked him to sleep for the last time. Even though this was some time ago and the family has an entire house-hold of children, now - my heart breaks for my sweet friend each time I think of the tears she shed as her tiny little joy breathed his last breath in her arms. I cannot begin to imagine that kind of pain. No parent should have to experience the death of their child.

My friend NEVER - not ONE TIME - asked God why it happened. She didn't look up towards heaven in disgust and demand to know why the Lord took her baby before he had a chance to live. She never buried her head in her sorrows and begged God to explain why He allowed her to experience a full-term pregnancy only to be denied the joy of holding her new born in her arms - never to have the opportunity to "train up her child." No - instead, she loved the children she already had and enjoyed the ones that came later. She faced her pain with the most grace I've ever seen in a human being.

My sweet friend clung to the Father of all compassion. She [and her husband] rested in the arms of the God of all comfort - and to this day - she's a hope for mothers who experience the horrible, gut-wrenching loss of a child. Instead of praying an angry prayer with fists clinched in anger, asking God why me? She asked - why NOT me? She asked God how she could be used through her experience of tragic and terrible pain. She knows better than anyone else I know - how to comfort people through trouble and lead them to the healing arms of Jesus Christ.

In the book of II Corinthians, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth shortly after he'd experienced what he called some of the worst trouble he'd ever faced. [II Corinthians 1:8 "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life."] In verses 3-4 Paul expresses deep, deep gratitude and an amazing understanding of God's authority. He handed his pain and fatigue over to the Lord and gracefully "pressed on towards the goal" that God put before him.

Our experience in this life is chock-o-block FULL of moments that inspire complaint. Loss of job, loss of health, rising grocery prices, car trouble, hurricanes, church politics, just plain politics ..... but what if we grabbed hold of those moments with the anticipation that God is growing our purpose? I am NOT, by any stretch of any kind of imagination asking God to grant me MORE trouble - I want to make that clear - but what if I could take the trouble I do experience as a widely opened door way to fresh opportunity? Have you suffered divorce? You have a kindred spirit with others who might go through it. Have you lost a cherished loved one? You know better than those who haven't - how to encourage somebody through that kind of pain.

Paul explains that the more often our testimony is bombarded with trials, the broader our spiritual opportunity. This is often - VERY often - a difficult thing to recognize or accept when in the throws of personal turmoil. But I wonder what our world would be like if we followers of Christ grabbed a hold of our trials with a death-grip like Bear Grylls with a salmon - and used them to sustain our spirit?