"We know that all things work together for the good for those who love God.."

 

Well now!  Are we that confident?  Paul was sitting in prison waiting to die when he spoke these words.  These are not easy words for me to say.  I am more inclined to ask: "Why do the innocent suffer? Why do the beautiful weep? What is God's way with us humans?"

I know something about suffering. I watched my spouse over a period of eight hellish years slowly lose her mind--she simply went away--became nothing. As hard as I tried, I could not put a pretty face on such evil, and out of all of that I still  have questions.

But, life goes on. We might say that Paul had an unshakable faith because as one untimely born, he met the risen Christ. (See First Corinthians 15).

 

For me, I met someone who taught me to think about life in a different way. First, I was reminded that we are continually thinking.  We think something like 90,000 thoughts in a 24 hour day. (I didn't count them). And we cannot remember the last three or four thoughts that we had.

But, we make up our thoughts. And we decide they are real. But they are simply thoughts. If we made them up, we can also rid ourselves of them. And we do not have to act on every thought that we have. So I decided that life is good despite the bad stuff.

I know. It's just a thought. But I choose to live in the present rather than in the past. (The past is where our thoughts remain.).

And do you know what? Life really is good. I even chose to believe that we are each one, safe in the arms of Jesus,
and nothing in this world or the next can change that - not life or death; things present or things past; neither heights or depths; nor anything in all creation can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

And this is the thought that keeps my soul alive.

How about you?

*****