There is so much more . . .

November - one of my favorite months.  I love the fall and we are having an extraordinary fall here in NYC.  God's majesty is on display and I am awed by it daily.  

 

 

With Thanksgiving approaching, I have been doing a scripture writing challenge this month.  It is simply a list of passages for each day that I write down in my journal and then follow that by writing down what God is speaking to me in that passage.  I really loved today's verses and they truly spoke to my heart.

2 Corinthians 4:15-18The Message (MSG)

^13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
^16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

That passage is so full of good news.  Good news in the midst of hardship.  Is that where you find yourself today?

Right now, I know of a man who is a quadriplegic, who is recovering from a recent surgery.  It has been such a struggle but he still brings joy to others and holds on to Jesus.  I know of a one year old who just had surgery for a cancerous tumor that was wrapped around his spine.  It has been 9 months of pain, struggle, fear, doctors, hospital stays and finally, this successful surgery.  He is recovering slowly and in that hardship, there is such joy over this miracle.  I know a woman who just had a baby girl after years of infertility, a miscarriage and great sorrow.  She now holds a new baby girl and the joy on her face is priceless.

Isn't that the tension of life here on this earth?  

Joy and Sorrow  

Miracles and Heartaches 

Faith and Doubt

Healing and Pain

New life and grief

Jesus lived in this tension.  As fully human and fully divine, He relied on the Father in the midst of these very same tensions that we feel.  As this passage in 2nd Corinthians says:
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

Our stories - our lives - are part of a much bigger Story that God is writing.  I can't see how it all fits together, but I trust the Author.  I'm puzzled at times.  I have felt a broken heart over things that have happened.  

I look to these verses and take heart.  

Each day does bring unfolding grace.

These struggles are small in comparison to what is ahead.

These things are temporary.

We reach our weak hands toward the Eternal.

I'm thankful for each step of this journey.  

I am thankful for my Faithful, Good, Good, Father.

I am thankful for so many of you that walk alongside me in this journey.