That's Just Life

Clean slates.  Fresh starts.  New beginnings.  I love them.  Whether changing the calendar each month, opening up a new ream of notebook paper, or wearing a pair of shoes for the first time.  There's just something about the word 'new' that excites us all.  Therefore scrolling through social media the last 24 hrs and seeing post after post with the words "expecting the best, the best is yet to come, excited for what 2014 has in store...." was in no way surprising.  I too am looking forward and anticipating what this coming year will bring for our family.  And I DO believe the best is yet to come!

However, in my 40+ years on this earth....I have also learned a thing or two about life.  I have heard that the most fertile soil is usually found underneath ash.  Fire is a good decomposer which can break down the soil and renew its nutrients.  Good amounts of nutrients will produce optimal growth and beauty in plants.  Anyone see the parallel I'm getting at?  The "best in life" is like the fertile soil.  Yet, fertile soil is most found after some kind of disaster.

Just this morning, I was still in bed (trying to wake up) and heard a very precious conversation between my 2 boys.  What started with a simple question from a 5 yr old to his older (much wiser) brother regarding the extinction of dinosaurs....led eventually to this:  "Caed, but why do bad things happen?"  Gulp.  We honestly could have stopped right there.  I held my breath wondering how on earth he would answer this question that has plagued mankind forever.  Caed replied without hesitation.  "That's just life....and if no one ever died, then how could we go to heaven?"  Such a simple childlike answer.  And yet, as I have thought back over those words today, 3 of them have hit me to the core.

That's just life.

Yes, Caed understands that, and I am grateful that the Lord has allowed him to learn it at such a young age.  Most kids have not experienced the hardships he has in his short 10 years of life.  Most of us do not taste pain, fear, trauma, and loss until we are grown adults.

The Bible states over and over, "...WHEN you face trials of many kinds..."  That's just life here on earth.  We WILL suffer.  Disaster WILL come.  Great PAIN will be experienced.  No one is exempt.

So on this first day of a brand new year, why am I posting 'doom and gloom', you ask?  I simply needed the reminder myself today.  It's life.  I know without a doubt this new year will bring moments of great joy to our hearts that we could never fathom.  The Lord will choose to bless in ways that none of us deserve.  I am confident in that.  Yet, I also know the storms will roll in during 2014 and bring hard times.  Days in which our "faith" will be tested.  Do we really believe what we claim to during those days of ease?  Those storms come in our lives for MANY purposes.  One would be the testing of our faith.  Another would be the renewing of nutrients to the "soil." Purification during fire.

Just as this famous quote in the picture states,  I believe it's a perfect motto to be reminded of at the start of a new year.  First and foremost, "Expect the BEST!"  Be joyful, with your heart overflowing in gratitude of the upcoming BLESSINGS God is planning to pour out on you and your family this year.  They will be like nothing we've seen before.  Don't miss them.  Be purposeful in looking for them.  Most of which come disguised.  Those are the coolest.

But we also need to "Prepare for the WORST."  This does not mean we walk around all day in fear of what might go wrong.  We do not need to take on a pessimistic attitude and drain everyone we come in contact with.  For me, preparing for the worst simply means "do not take things for granted."  It is knowing that I will be called on again to walk down a road that brings great pain.  It is reminding myself we are not promised tomorrow.  Just as Caed so simply stated this morning, "it's just life."  As long as we are still living and breathing on this earth, suffering will be apart of it.

Now...the best for last:  "CAPITALIZE on what comes!"  Regardless.  Not IF it ends the way you want.  It is being fully aware that God has a wonderful plan for His children.  Those "bad things" do not occur in vain.  There is purpose in everything under the sun.  Don't just know it.  BELIEVE IT!  Take it to heart.  Live it.  When you do, the most amazing (mind blowing) things will come out of those situations.  I'm not saying it is easy.  When you are staring "the worst" in the face, it is....... (I honestly can't find the word.  Unexplainable.)   Yet, the key is clinging relentlessly to the Almighty.  In doing so, blessing upon blessing will be showered.  Redemption will be seen.  His glory will be revealed.  And beauty indeed will be seen RISING from the ashes.  Unfathomable blessings are missed time and time again when we fail to see the good...amongst the "bad."  It is so much more than just turning lemons into lemonade.  To truly "capitalize on what comes" isn't about us.  It isn't about what WE do,  our efforts, or our ingenuity.  It is choosing to see the outcomes from a heavenly perspective.  It is trusting God in all things.  Believing HE has a greater plan.  It is only then that we can "consider it pure joy" as the Bible commands in James 1:2-4, WHEN we face various trials.

So as we celebrate this new year, my prayer is that we walk into it with the proper perspective.  Do not be naive.  Do not let all the pomp and circumstance of fireworks, resolutions, and the ball dropping cloud your sight.  I promise you...2 days from now you'll be sorely disappointed and feel cheated out of life.  Rather be armed.  Be prepared.  Be ready for the storms.  Walk into this new year literally one day at a time.  Despite the events of your day, always count your blessings at the end of it.  They are as numerous as the stars....  How then could 2014 NOT be the best yet?

Thank you Lord for the days you already have laid out before us.  Help us to trust YOU when we do not understand.  Remind us of your plan to prosper us, to give us hope and a future.  We are in awe that you love us like you do.  Help us to take each day....each moment you bless us with as a GIFT!  Then be our fortress when the winds begin to blow and the fire rages around us.  We know during those times especially you are conforming us to the image of your son, and stunning beauty will indeed rise...