Standing on the outside, looking in…the screen joins bold color with life as sharp as glass. I can’t bear the pain in the cries of women mourning over bleeding children as smoke from the rockets spreads across cities. Still, the truth of those lives…that reality…that brokenness cannot be hidden in the grey and black of destruction.
And then, I turn the channel. My stomach recoils at the world’s mess and I wonder when He will make it right.
Standing on the outside, looking in…the familiar sound of her voice travels from one tower to another and I smile at her German practicality. My dear auntie has cancer–again–and I feel heat and tears mingle as I glance into the corners of her life. I can see them, though she has quietly swept them into a forgotten corner–fear of the unknown…a sense of aloneness…the looming question of ‘Why’?
In a moment, there is only the hum of the dial tone and my heart aches for the trial she–and so many others–battle until they fade away.
Standing on the inside, looking out…I begin to feel the hard edges of the day tear at the tender places of hope, joy, and peace. And I am reminded that this world, this reality, and these trials are temporary.
Dear one, He is doing more than we can know or even imagine. One glorious day, Christ will return and this world will know the true Peace Maker.
And even now, when we can no longer rely on our bodies for health or our loved ones for understanding, He is with us. He never leaves us. He always understands the ‘Why’. And His strength remains forever..even as we fade.
If the hidden places in your life and mine are full of grief, emotional or physical pain, or misgivings about the shattered world around us then let them shout for His mercy and restoration in a “thirsty and weary land” that we might see His boundless glory displayed in our small lives.
