Will it be? Happier, I mean? I donโt know. Jimmy will still be absent. Grief will still be present. What is broken seems likely to stay that way.
Consequently, I just donโt know.
What I ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ, though, is that God is good, that joy can be excavated from sorrow, and that what God does not repair, He is faithful to redeem.
The longer I live, and the more intensely life batters, the more clear the unavoidable truth becomesโas believers, we are not insulated from pain. There is no celestial immunity from difficulty, no divine guarantee that calamity wonโt befall us.
Grasping those lessons, though, enables us to avoid the trap of expecting this life to hold for us what ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ eternity promises to. The day ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ when the very Ancient of Days Himself, steps in, and, ๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ tramples death, vanquishes the enemy, and makes all things new, butโฆ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ.
We yearn for that day, but must still navigate life in the here and now, suspended in that waiting place between promise and fulfillment, living in homes that are not our home.
Our wishes and Godโs ways are not always compatible. As we work to harmonize who we have always believed Him to be, with the painful circumstances of life, it is my prayer:
That we will find joy in the yielding while we wait for whatโs to come. That we will uncover facets of His love and character ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ on the uneventful, easy paths walked before. That we will consider our struggles the purchase price for front row seats to both His exploits ๐๐ง๐ His ability to work good from what has been, or remains, inexpressibly bad.
Unsure of what awaits me in the year to come, I hand God a blank check. I declare to the One who knows me best and loves me most, โFather, You may help Yourself to my life.โ
There is no greater, more trustworthy repository.
I donโt know what 2024 holds, but I trust, ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ, the One who does.
Will it be happier? Maybe not.
Will God redeem it anyway? Absolutely.
May I be found faithful ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ.
โLeave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.โ
~ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐
๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐