Hope. [when tragedy strikes]

It's amazing to see the compassion in everyone's hearts after the events of yesterday, but is there more we can do aside from posting a status about our shock and sentiments?
Sometimes it's difficult to know how to respond to such abhorrent tragedies, but Rene Schlaepfer said something really profound last night that has stuck in my head.

In answer to the question of how to react to the events of yesterday he said

"Don't respond to hate with hate; respond with Love. 

Don't respond to despair with despair; respond with Hope."

I think it's often tempting to give into fear and despair because we think that this is how we are supposed to respond. We think that if we aren't feeling the hopelessness the people there are feeling then we aren't compassionate enough. 
But how wrong is that? 
We should ache in empathy for those who are hurting,  but true compassion is accompanied with action. True compassion lasts. I urge us all to realize that the immediate support response has been overwhelming, but the real need will come in the days, months, and years ahead. There will be a time when everyone else forgets, but the parents are still living without their children. The children will still live with the horrific memories. The community will still live in shock and bewilderment at the evil that entered their town.

As CNN states, it seems, "The overwhelming sentiment: Hug your kids closely."
Really? That's it? All we can do is appreciate those we love because we never know when they will be snatched from us?
Is there not more hope than that? Did not Jesus come for the very purpose of healing and freedom? 
Healing from broken hearts. Healing memories. Setting people free from the past. Setting people free from horrors that bind them to regret, fear, and despair. 

As Christians we have something to offer those in Connecticut.
"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16b) 

Let's not forget that we can intercede on behalf of the victims of this evil.
Let's not forget that there is Hope!
Let's not forget that Jesus redeems the unredeemable.
Let's not forget that Jesus heals the unhealable.
Let's not forget that we have a part to play in that healing.
Our prayers and thoughts of empathy need to not end when we are able to brush past our thoughts of this horror.
It is our responsibility as those who know the Hope to help provide the Hope.

So in this tragedy and all others like it, I challenge all of you who serve our King:
Don't forget; don't despair. 
Instead remember; instead bring Hope. 
Take action: PRAY! 
Pray that the hope and restoration that you have found will become real to the people of Connecticut. 
Pray that the love and healing that you know to be real will be poured over the people of Connecticut. 
Pray and don't stop. 
My prayer is that I will not forget. 
My prayer is that God will continue to bring these people to our hearts and minds in the days to come when the horror and pain sink in for those directly touched by the evil while everyone else moves on.






.

Time. [scattered thoughts in the midst of finals]

As a 5th year college senior, sometimes I wonder about the purpose of time.
They say, "Time is money."
But what if that changed?
What if in this world time did not matter?
Think of the people we would be--no longer sleep deprived because an alarm to awaken us unnaturally would not be needed.
Think of the backs that would lose all the tension and the brains that ache no longer mentioned because the stress would be alleviated.
No more deadlines. No more time crunch.
No more pressure to quicken the pace.
Late would be a foreign concept.
Early wouldn't exist either.
What if time wasn't money?
What if?
Let's bring time back to being just a way to mark our place but nothing more.
What if our world operated in a way that valued time spent as it was happening instead of only valuing the time that is to come or the time that has passed?
Time is a gift.
We can enjoy anticipation or we can run right by it.
We can stop and smell the metaphorical roses or we can live our lives like bare-feet on hot coals, racing through just trying not to fall.
We hurt ourselves.
They say we forfeit years of life for minutes of worry.
We end up losing the very time we try so hard to gain.
And to what end?
Did we enjoy our time?
What if time were just a word and not money?
What if...

Thanksgiving. [where does joy come from?]

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations." ~Psalm 100:4-5

Thanksgiving and praise.
That's how we're supposed to enter the presence of our Lord.

"You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11

In His presence comes fullness of joy which gives us Life.

"...the joy of the Lord is your strength." ~Nehemiah 8:10b

But sometimes it doesn't seem that easy.
Life gets hard.
Sometimes our hearts are heavy.
Sometimes our hearts are broken for an injustice we recognize either against us or someone else.
Sometimes we get angry and frustrated about these terrible things that really should not continue.
Sometimes it's easier to list everything going wrong.
Sometimes it's easier to be mad.
Sometimes when all these emotions are building up, we just need to cry.
Sometimes sorrow is present and we can't deny it.
That's okay.

We must give that sorrow and pain to Jesus, laying it at His feet.

"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." ~Psalm 30:5 

"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy." ~Psalm 126:5

This is a promise.
Joy is our reward.
Thanksgiving is our anthem.

We always will have a reason to sing.

Suffering. [seeing the reason for pain]

What is the purpose of physical pain?
It's a warning signal, right? It means something is wrong with our body. Sometimes it's because we have eaten something bad. Sometimes it's because we did something not very smart that resulted in injury. Other times it's not our fault. We can pick up viruses from other people. We can be physically attacked by others. Some pain is caused intentionally; some is by accident.

I feel like it's a similar thing with pain on a larger scale: suffering in general. Except this time the cause is sin. This sin can be our own. Or it can be from someone else--intentional or not. "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) What does "death" mean exactly? Could it be an absence of Life? This doesn't only mean physical death. It can mean any sort of absence of life: depression, illness, emotional, physical, or spiritual torment, etc.
Shouldn't we then recognize that if we see the latter present, there's a reason for it? Again, sometimes it is because of our own sin; many times it's because of someone else's sin. But it's a warning signal. Like physical pain, it shows that something's wrong.

I've been thinking a lot about why so much crap happens. People often seem to blame God for the suffering in our world saying, "If God is really good..why does life suck?"
I've certainly had my moments of asking the same question myself. But then I stop and think about the reason the pain is there.
It's a symptom.
Our world has denied its only true Life support system--our Creator--so no wonder its dying.

We cannot expect to have a perfect world from the perfect God unless that world is in complete submission to that perfect God. The beauty of the gospel is that He pierces through our dark rebellion to give us a glimpse of His light even though we as a world continue to deny Him.
His love is so strong that it cannot be stopped by an entire world that has chosen evil.
He still heals.
He still comforts.
He still restores.
He still redeems.
He still  makes beauty from ashes.
He still works everything for those who obey Him.

I am continually blown away by the way He turns everything into something good.
There is nothing that He does not use. Everything is an opportunity for Him to reveal His love more and more.

In the same way the bad is a symptom of sin, the good is a symptom of God's love--His overabundant bubbling brook of Goodness.
If we are going to blame Him for the evil that is a result of our sin, should we not even  more give Him credit for the blessings?

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)

Why don't we spend  more time marveling in the gifts we have been given rather than wishing we were given the same gifts as other people?

What kind of a slap in the face to God is it to spend our lives complaining about the struggles instead of giving thanks for the growth that comes from them?

Trusting.

Sometimes I feel like certain songs were written specifically for me.
This is one of them.

"Sometimes all we have to hold on to

Is what we know is true of who You are
So when the heartache hits like a hurricane
That could never change who You are
And we trust in who You are

Even if the healing doesn’t come
And life falls apart
And dreams are still undone
You are God You are good
Forever faithful One
Even if the healing
Even if the healing doesn’t come

Lord we know Your ways are not our ways
So we set our faith in who You are
Even though You reign high above us
You tenderly love us
We know Your heart
And we rest in who You are

You’re still the Great and Mighty One
We trust You always
You’re working all things for our good
We’ll sing your praise

You are God and we will bless You
As the Good and Faithful One
You are God and we will bless You
Even if the healing doesn’t come
Even if the healing doesn’t come"

.

"Time to Say Goodbye". [bittersweet endings]

One week from today is the day I board a plane and say goodbye to one of the best summers of my life!
I will be returning to Michigan to finish my LAST year of college. (Crazy!)
Seasons change so fast.
Sometimes I don't feel quite ready.
Saying goodbye to loved ones and loved places is never easy.
This is one of the times when the "bitter-sweet" ending feels more bitter than usual.
Maybe this is because I have learned so much about Life this summer. (yes, Life, not life.)
Maybe it's because I don't know if I will ever get to spend another summer like this in Santa Cruz.
I really have no idea what is ahead of me.
So much in my life seems really uncertain right now, but since when is anything in this world certain? That's what makes life an adventure, right?

I know that God is so good.
His timing is always perfect.
ALWAYS.
And HE knows the plans for my future even if I don't.

So I'm excited for this year.
I'm excited for what Jesus has for me.
I've learned so much recently about following Him into the valleys and up steep mountains because He knows what lies ahead. It is all worth it. Even if I can't see it all now, I will some day. I can't wait.

"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" ~Psalm 27:1

I will follow.



.

Pressing on. [joy in the waiting]

Trusting in the unseen isn't always easy.
At times there are moments of impatience, frustration, and disappointment.
Doubts arise, and fear takes hold.
The enemy laughs in our faces as we look for answers.
But if we continually place our hope in the Love of Christ, we will not be disappointed in the end because "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8).
That's a promise.

Don't give up.
Press on.
Joy will come.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~2 Corinthians 4:17-18 

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." ~Romans 5:3-5

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called  me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 3:12-14 

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him." ~Psalm 28:7

.