Not in vain

Crappity crap crap.
That’s how I’d describe a couple periods of my life. They hands-down sucked.

Now, I am not comfortable saying God purposes bad things. As in, He decided that so and so should go through this horrible thing so that this other good thing could happen. That would mean God somehow needs “bad” to create “good.” There are actually whole classes to discuss issues just like this (and I take them!), so we’re not going to go super deep now. But I just think this line of thinking can be controlling on our part. Are we really going to suggest that we know what God did and why? Admittedly, it feels tidy and neat to say such things, especially when we so desperately want answers. It’s much harder to say you just don’t know what God’s doing or not doing when it comes to bad things.

But anyways. Back to my crappity crap crap times. I recently had the privilege of sharing a little bit about my own tough experiences with someone who is now struggling through something very similar. This person and I do not know each other, and we live hundreds of miles apart. But thanks to a mutual connection, we were introduced via Internet. I emailed, not words of advice, but just my story. I received a response filled with gratitude, assuring me that just my sharing was making all the difference in the world. And I sat staring at my computer screen surprised ... huh... The tears I cried, those awful months, that fear ... none of it is in vain. Years later, they're offering a little bit of comfort to someone else, someone I don't even know. So, I don’t think God made me have bad times so that this person could experience something good. No. I think the world is just filled with bad things, period. So God maybe helps put certain people in certain places at certain times, so that none of our bad times are in vain. And for that, I am grateful.