Hope

I want to say upfront and unequivocally that I would not have it any other way.  A decision I have made was the best decision I have ever made.
What lead me to stating that was that in most of my writing I mention universal difficulties that my decision has not made me immune to.  There is no doubt I know a peace I have not known before and sometimes I don’t walk into things I may have.  But there is one thing I really want to avoid conveying.
That is, if someone says, “make a decision for Him and you will never have another problem.”  If that is said it is a lie and the recipient is in for a rude shock.  There are things that come my way that are beyond my control.  They happen to me, and they can happen to anyone.
My life is not a bed of roses.  Roses are pretty but they contain thorns.  It seems trouble is the inheritance of everyone.  When an area gets much needed rain everyone gets it.  If there is an earthquake all go through it.
Where I lived in Dale Street flooded.  It was not just my house but everyone’s.  I will never forget a neighbour setting up a rope across a street that had become a river.  One afternoon I wondered why the kettle would not work and then looked out and saw all the water.  Looking downstairs, it was all flooded.
There is one big difference for me.  I still know initial rhubarb moments.  I wonder why.  But that invariably gives way to peace based on where my confidence lies.  I reckon it would be pretty silly to be thankful for some things (like cancer or earthquakes or floods) but I can be thankful in everything.
I may not understand.  I may question why.  But I do trust.  Bad things happen to everyone but bad things can work for good.  I see that so much on tv.  Things happen that I would not wish on anyone, but so often the person says because of it they have changed for the better.
So much of what I write contains difficulties I am going through.  Things that I am facing and working through.  Yet I really feel the starting point determines the response.  It can be “woe is me” and “why, why, why” uttered in a seemingly empty room. But because of my starting point, my “woe is me” and “why, why, why” moments turn into trust and confidence moments.
So I will continue to write about hard stuff, but in the knowledge that even when I do not understand, nothing is unanswerable.