Reaction

No one needs to be told that life is hard.
It is.
And we all know it.
Right now I have friends and family that are facing hard things...
marriage troubles, teenager troubles, health issues, leaving jobs, finding jobs, empty nests, selling homes... (sigh)
All hard.

The other day my sweet daughter-in-law (I still kind of marvel at how she found her way into our family) sent me some words of encouragement.
One of those thoughts had to do with how we react to the things that God brings into our lives, and how important that is to our Christian testimony, and, I might add, our relationship with Jesus.

Watching the pictures from Japan through my tears I was struck with the dignity and resolute demeanor of the Japanese people.
They are grieving and mourning and all that I would likewise do, but there is a calm, peaceable acceptance.
I don't know how many of them know my Saviour, I hope they do and that He is indeed the source of their quiet strength.

How would I react to that?
Quite frankly I don't think that my reaction would be "dignified".
You read my blog, I do a lot of whining, complaining...I can be a baby. I know.

I have never had a 30 ft. wall of water wash my town off the map,
Or picked through the debris of a tornado,
Or lost a close family member,
Or had a Doctor tell me to get my affairs in order,
Or watched my home burn to the ground... like my neighbor, who stood in the road watching as her home was reduced to a pile of wet, black, smoking embers and finally, quietly said: "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh; blessed be the name of the Lord." Really.

Luke 9:51 tells me that my Saviour resolved to walk right into the place where he would eventually be unfairly tried... and crucified. Wow.
And God's Word teaches me that Jesus-likeness is my goal, His life my pattern, His choices, mine.

How I respond does matter.
I must turn my face toward the things that come into my life and choose to trust in God and His goodness to carry me, with grace and peace and humility.
To calmly endure uncertainty; to leave my fears at His feet and fill my mind with His Word.
To grieve and mourn with hope and to begin again believing that God is good and His purposes will prevail.

And to rest in the peace that passes all understanding.
Yeah, that is all hard too.
But I choose to endeavor to live modeling "What would Jesus do?"
And God will do the rest.

My reaction:  Gratitude.