I look at the pieces of this puzzle that is life, and it makes absolutely no sense at all. I can't figure out if that piece goes here and this one there, or if they even belong at all. Upside-down, flipped around, backward, forward, or sideways? Got me, brother. I'm stumped.
I'm not a genius, but I'm not stupid, either. Even though I may not be the World's Most Interesting Man, I haven't exactly been living under a rock these past 40-some years. I've been there and done that enough to know the basics of how life works.
But sometimes, it just doesn't make sense why it has to be so hard.
I'm not talking about brain surgery or global financial algorithms.
I'm talking about the every day ordinary stuff. When the mundane becomes monumental. Smack you in the face, first thing in the morning realities. I did it yesterday, why can't I do it today quandaries. Those things which seem simple enough, except that nothing and nobody wants to cooperate.
Like marriage. How is it possible that getting ready to go to a party with someone I've shared a bed with for 18 years could lead to a squabble? I mean, we're raising three kids together, but we're going to argue over where the party is, when we're supposed to be there, and if we're bringing chips or drinks? Sometimes I wonder if we even speak the same language.
And what about those kids? I thought molding them into perfect examples of obedience, courtesy, and respect would be easy. It's not. I saw them take their first breath, but I swear sometimes I think their next one just might be their last if they keep pushing my buttons. Good grief; don't they know we pay the bills around here? My wife said she got them to this point, now it's on me. She's done. Thanks, Dear.
Then there's work, money, relationships, obligations . . . Not to mention the Rhodes Scholar candidate at the cash register who can't make change for a twenty dollar bill when I buy a cup of coffee to clear my head.
Really?
Sorry. That wasn't nice. What I meant to say was . . . Really?
Yep, sometimes life is hard.
It's usually not the big ticket items that get me down. It's the death by a thousand cuts, Chinese water-torture days that wear on me. I've got one nerve left, and be danged if someone isn't stabbing at it with a toothpick. That's when everything stops making sense.
Until I step back, take a deep breath . . . and scream.
Just kidding.
What we have to remember is Romans chapter 5 and James chapter 1. Life's about that journey from suffering, to perseverance, to character, to hope. It's about testing bringing about maturity. It's about trials making us complete.
Pressure and heat transforms simple carbon into diamonds. Omelets come from broken eggs. You have to tear down to rebuild. Pick your metaphor; the reality is, if life wasn't hard, we wouldn't get any stronger or any better.
Life is our spiritual gymnasium. Sometimes God piles on the weights to prepare us for what's ahead.
Remember that the next time He gives you a challenge.
It's all about making you who He wants you to be!
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