Don't Face Life Alone

                                               

“April showers bring May flowers”. Though Texas is a little different; I have had flowers in my yard since February. However, the idea still stands there is a cost to everything. We have to suffer through rainy days in order to have the water we want and need. Personally, I love rainy days, for it feels like God is nourishing us. Unfortunately, sometimes with severe weather come unwanted consequences. The weather is not a judgment tool as some preachers may tell you. It is random, or due to changing weather patterns. "The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike." Floods sweep away homes of good and bad people alike.

 Sometimes the struggles in life make us stronger; sometimes they may break us. A lot of the results depend upon with whom we walk through life. Once we realize that God is not judging or punishing or testing us with the struggles of life, it becomes much easier to look to God in hard times. God loves us and wants what is best for us, always. Much of life is governed by the randomness of the universe coupled with choices made with our free will or the ripple effect of others' decisions. Whatever we face, it is easier to face with God. I loved the new movie, “Miracles from Heaven”, for it showed how God brought comfort to both the child and the parents of the child who lived and the child who did not survive. Our loving relationship with God is a constant in good times or bad. We never have to face anything alone. We can walk through life with a loving guide, helping us make the best decisions. We go through life with an eternal, knowledgeable comforter. We find all this and more in our relationship with God. Into all our lives struggles will come. Don’t face them alone. Is God relevant? Try facing life alone.

Relevant Relationship

           Recently I was talking to some grad students, you know twenty-somethings, and they opened my eyes to their perspective. I wasn't surprised, but I was saddened to discover that they did not think God was even available for a potential relationship. They looked at God as someone who created the universe, set all the rules of physics in motion, and then went on vacation. The universe was on autopilot, and God was not involved in our lives at all. They thought God might occasionally look in upon creation with kind of a voyeuristic appreciation for what had been created to see how things were going. Though at the same time God was unconcerned because God knew the things set in motion were continuing on their own way as they were supposed to. God was some kind of absentee landlord who didn't charge rent. Or maybe it was kind of like an ant farm in which God would occasionally thump the glass to see what happened when the earth quaked for the humans and then would go on God's casual way, for humanity was unable to stimulate God's short attention span. What a sad picture of God; and what could I possibly do to convince them God was otherwise?
            Perhaps I could tell them that I had a relationship with God myself, that I believed that God cared for me better than any parent. I could tell them God loved me with full compassion even with being totally aware of who I am and all the things I had done. But would they think I was just some deluded fanatic living in my own fantasy world built upon an archaic religion? I could let them see inside me to take note of all my struggles. Then they would see the light and happiness within me; they would see the great changes in my life, and they would be convinced that divine effort was essential to accomplish such change. Or would they? It is so evident to me, but how would it look to them? It is so much a matter of faith, feeling, and perspective; I can't prove it. If I could just convince them of the possibility of a relationship with God and get them to give it a try, then they could feel it too. But would their perspective be open enough to give it a fair shake? If I could shape the God experience into a pill and surround it with a party of pretty people, then maybe they would give it a try. Or we could wrap the experience of helping others in need into a God-defined experience; then  the possibility of God being active in our lives and in our world would be more relevant. Loving God and feeling loved by God is such a wonderful thing. I just wish there was some way I could hand on that feeling to those who have yet to experience it, to those who don't even know it is possible. I'll keep trying, be open to the possibilities, and who knows, you may yet be surprised.  See video  www.fcccarrollton.org