Today...

Today has been a day of mixed emotions. It began with the sad news from the Batman movie in Colorado. That was the first news I heard today, & of course, words are inadequate to describe such a horror. The human heart cannot comprehend it. Such terror is a nightmare, only it's NOT a dream. It's  daunting. It's sad. It scares us all. It reminds us of the frailty of human life.

It makes us stop & think... That could have just as easily been me or one of my loved ones. These words have been the theme of my week. I have 2 friends who did not receive good news this week about their cancer. That could have just as easily been me. The evils of the world are overwhelming & so difficult to understand.

Evil & suffering are a part of our earthly world. We've been promised that there will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more darkness in Heaven. I hold on to these promises  (not only for myself but for my loved ones) with all of my heart. I think about Heaven quite a bit, & it effects how I respond to life's suffering & evil. Knowing that these terrible things will not last forever brings me some peace. It gives me an eternal hope that cannot be destroyed. Without this understanding, I don't believe I would be who I am. I would be hopeless.

As humans, we can only ponder the mind of God. His ways are not our ways. His understanding is not our understanding. Our temptation is to ask how a loving God can allow such atrocities. How can our loved ones be allowed to suffer? What we don't realize is that our definition of loving is not God's definition. We are arrogant to think that we know better than our Creator.

I can see small things which I call treasures that have come from my own suffering. These treasures are significant to me. They are priceless. However, if I described them, others might judge them as insignificant & meaningless. When I look back on the suffering I have experienced in the last year, & I discover something good that resulted from my pain, I am thankful that my suffering had unimaginable good come from it. I am also mindful that this is only the good I recognize. Perhaps there is even more good coming from my trials that I will never know.

It's hard to think that any possible good can come from today's tragedy in the Colorado movie theater. Some things in life just shouldn't be allowed. People should not be allowed to hurt others, to destroy them, to take their lives, & to inflict unending life changing pain. If I were on the receiving end of today's tragedy, if one of my loved ones lost their life, I would not be able to see any good in their suffering. I would see evil, just pure evil.

The Bible does promise that God brings good out of evil. We see this theme over & over in the Bible. God takes evil, & somehow good comes from it. The good that results may not be tangible; it may not be the good for which we hoped. After all, our understanding is not His. We are promised that we have a hope which will not disappoint. It's hard to imagine that today's victims could even begin to grasp God's promises. My prayer for them is that in some small way, they will feel God's presence & know that He has not forsaken them.