The Troubles I've Seen
You may have noticed, but if not, I’m going to let you in on a secret. Life is hard. Oh, there are many good times. And I am convinced of this. Most of us have far more reasons to give thanks than to complain. Nevertheless, life is hard.
I’ve faced my share of hard times. When we first married, Tina and I were poor. And I don’t mean that we didn’t have the money to eat at fine restaurants in New Orleans when going to school there. No, I mean that we ate mac and cheese from a box, and pork and beans from the can as our main course more than once. Oh, and I did everything but stand on top of the clothes to get them in the washer because I only had two quarters; one for washing and one for drying.
Then we discovered that we could not conceive children. And then, far too early my mother died. And then, to top it off, we stood by his bedside in Charleston, South Carolina as our son fought for his life, and when he did live we had to inform him that he would never walk again.
And then last week my sister and I took our dad to an assisted living home where he will likely live out his days. He has lived with her for two years, having been told then that he had only six months to live. His care is more than she and her husband can do. It was Dad’s idea, but still it was not an easy thing to do.
I’ve been asked, “How and why do you keep trusting in God when He has let you go through so much?” My response? How could I go through those things without the Lord by my side?
No, God has been good to me. With Job I can say, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And also with Job I say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”
You see, our God has been through troubles and toils Himself .He has shown us how to face adversity. And He has promised to be by our sides all the way home.
I don’t relish trials. I wish life was easier. But I trust the Lord, for He has been good to me. I pray that you will trust Him, too.
