I’ll tell you a story about a guy and a girl. As any teenage love story goes, they thought, “This is it! This is real, This is forever.” Time went by, and the guy decided that she wasn’t the one for him. She was devastated. He went on to greener pastures. The heartache for her was almost beyond bearing, but he could toss her a casual smile.
Years went by. It took years for her to trust, to let go, to love. But she did. It was right and good. She found her lifelong mate. She grew stronger and her love grew deeper. Together, they met each challenge.
He found someone, possibly his forever. But when hard times came, he would escape into work, a hidden fantasy or relationship. Comitment was more of a convenient option.
You ask yourself why. You may ask what if? There are many answers to these questions. What if they had stayed together? Would it have lasted? What if his heart had been broken, would he have been stronger? Put aside the argument that God has one person for you, a perfect mate, would it have stood the test of time? Probably not.
Many times, the development of character (in particular the character of commitment/love) comes only through pain. Many lessons in life are learned through heartache. Maturation thrives in the hot house of pain. When strongholds in our life crumble, and we are left standing empty-handed and broken-hearted, we suddenly realize we are free to reach up to God. Many times we are humiliated. And humility's perspective is very clear.
We are stripped of life’s comforts and (false) securities. And we realize that God has not left us. He has always been there. God cannot help but love us. Not because we are so good or lovely, but because God IS love. It is not just a word that describes Him. It is His essence. It is who He is. He defines love, and He cannot help but to love us because we are SO in need of His love.
It is through pain that our hold on the superficial and temporal is weakened, and our grasp on the real essence of forever is strengthened. We know this, yet, it is so hard for us to embrace the pain and suffering instead of running from it.
I think I will always run…hopefully, not as fast.
4 comments:
Your posts are so encouraging to read, Kari. I know you didn't write it for me but it really spoke to me so thank you.
Is God enough? I have found that it is only when you have nothing else that you truly realize that God IS all you need!
a hard lesson learned.
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