Monday, September 22, 2008

It's Getting Bad Out There

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

I woke up this morning after a fitful night's sleep with a sore throat and an even more unrested husband. I missed the first few hours of work for a doctor's appointment (routine check-in, but still unpleasant and how did they manage to be running 30 min. behind when I was the first appt of the day?) and have to get blood drawn tomorrow (BLECH!).

While sitting on the table waiting for examination, I got a text message that had some very bad news. At least I had something else to think about while getting poked and prodded.

And then I got into the office and found out that pretty much everyone was having a day like mine. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure moving to Australia wouldn't help.

On the other hand, we had a wonderfully timely sermon at church yesterday on suffering, from 1 Peter 1:1-7. The Lord is neither absent nor silent when we are in the pit. My favorite line from the sermon yesterday (from a Zimbabwean pastor ... talk about making my life "troubles" seem trivial!) was that God has an inheritance stored up for us, one that will not perish, spoil or fade away. And God keeps both the inheritance and the inheritor safe and secure.

Also a brilliant observation -- in Psalm 23, when the psalmist talks about the valley of the shadow of death, "it is shocking to realize that it is the Shepherd who leads us into this dark time." In plenty, we learn thankfulness. In suffering, we learn dependence.

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:21-26

1 comment:

Addie said...

Dear friend, I hope your day ended better than it began. I love you!
Addie