Lessons
This past week has been really difficult. Deciding about an apartment, financial issues, exhaustion, difficult situations, miscommunications, and all in the midst of learning to live in a new country. Definitely glad it's Sunday and a new week begins. Throughout it all, God has been a gentle teacher. These are the lessons I learned this week.
1. Each day really is new every morning.
Confession: I'm not really an optimist. I try, but it is a muscle that tends to atrophy. Sometimes I wake up not wanting to face the day because I know it will be just as trying as the day before. I don't often view the day as an opportunity for something new and different. After a really rough night this week, I woke up the next morning lighter for no reason at all. I realized that even though I still had to deal with the difficulties from the day before, this new day could be and would be different because the Lord's faithfulness and steadfast love hadn't changed. I have Him. Isn't He enough to help face the day ahead? Yes, and I need to continually remind myself of this.
2. In life, there will be seasons of general calm and seasons of amplified stress, but there will never be easy. That's not going to change, but I will change -- how I react, how I think, how I feel. I do have a say in what I change to.
So many times I want to reach out and hit the easy button. I want my hardships to disappear. I want peace. I want to be able to breathe and relax before the next big wave overwhelms me. The thing is, there is no easy button. It is an illusion and a lie. What then? How do we handle the rough seas of life? We learn how to swim in all different waters and all different weather. We can also get in a boat to help stay above the waves for a while, to have help and companionship rowing and sailing along. Most importantly, throughout it all, we learn. We begin to look for the signs of foul weather and rough seas. We know which boats to take and which to avoid. We surround ourselves with those who have wisdom and experience so we can be guided. We change and we survive, if we want to.
3. Even in the seasons of difficulties, life is still good.
As I mentioned earlier, it has been a really hard week. I have been knocked down, but I have chosen to get up. This morning as I was riding the train to church, I looked out as we were crossing the Donau with the Kahlenberg dusted with snow in the distance. It was a beautiful sight. I took a deep breath and smiled. Life is good. It isn't just a matter of perspective. If I'm looking at muddy streets all the time, I could think that dirt and grime is all there is. I could also see only sunshine and rainbows if I choose to do so. But that dichotomy is false. Life is not good or bad. Life is good because God declared it good in the beginning. Since then, sin has come and tainted the world, and life is not what it was meant to be.
4. We must fight for hope.
It is easy to give up hope. Sometimes the darkness is so dark and the light so far away and so dim that it seems like we will never feel the light's warmth again. Sometimes when I see all that is going on in the world, I am tempted to give up. How can anything I do to help? What's the point if nothing is ever going to change? Hope begins to slip through my fingers. I have been reading through Jeremiah a chapter a day. Two things have stood out to me: 1) God is the God of justice and righteousness. He is more passionate about it than I am. 2) Even in the midst of God pronouncing exile on the people of Judea, God is promising redemption and restoration. There is hope because God will make things right.
Looking back, I'd say it's been a pretty good week overall.
1. Each day really is new every morning.
Confession: I'm not really an optimist. I try, but it is a muscle that tends to atrophy. Sometimes I wake up not wanting to face the day because I know it will be just as trying as the day before. I don't often view the day as an opportunity for something new and different. After a really rough night this week, I woke up the next morning lighter for no reason at all. I realized that even though I still had to deal with the difficulties from the day before, this new day could be and would be different because the Lord's faithfulness and steadfast love hadn't changed. I have Him. Isn't He enough to help face the day ahead? Yes, and I need to continually remind myself of this.
2. In life, there will be seasons of general calm and seasons of amplified stress, but there will never be easy. That's not going to change, but I will change -- how I react, how I think, how I feel. I do have a say in what I change to.
So many times I want to reach out and hit the easy button. I want my hardships to disappear. I want peace. I want to be able to breathe and relax before the next big wave overwhelms me. The thing is, there is no easy button. It is an illusion and a lie. What then? How do we handle the rough seas of life? We learn how to swim in all different waters and all different weather. We can also get in a boat to help stay above the waves for a while, to have help and companionship rowing and sailing along. Most importantly, throughout it all, we learn. We begin to look for the signs of foul weather and rough seas. We know which boats to take and which to avoid. We surround ourselves with those who have wisdom and experience so we can be guided. We change and we survive, if we want to.
3. Even in the seasons of difficulties, life is still good.
As I mentioned earlier, it has been a really hard week. I have been knocked down, but I have chosen to get up. This morning as I was riding the train to church, I looked out as we were crossing the Donau with the Kahlenberg dusted with snow in the distance. It was a beautiful sight. I took a deep breath and smiled. Life is good. It isn't just a matter of perspective. If I'm looking at muddy streets all the time, I could think that dirt and grime is all there is. I could also see only sunshine and rainbows if I choose to do so. But that dichotomy is false. Life is not good or bad. Life is good because God declared it good in the beginning. Since then, sin has come and tainted the world, and life is not what it was meant to be.
4. We must fight for hope.
It is easy to give up hope. Sometimes the darkness is so dark and the light so far away and so dim that it seems like we will never feel the light's warmth again. Sometimes when I see all that is going on in the world, I am tempted to give up. How can anything I do to help? What's the point if nothing is ever going to change? Hope begins to slip through my fingers. I have been reading through Jeremiah a chapter a day. Two things have stood out to me: 1) God is the God of justice and righteousness. He is more passionate about it than I am. 2) Even in the midst of God pronouncing exile on the people of Judea, God is promising redemption and restoration. There is hope because God will make things right.
Looking back, I'd say it's been a pretty good week overall.
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