Why is there so much hurt in life?
Not getting invited to the social all your friend group attends.
Your first love that isn’t really love, but how is a young heart to know.
The rejection letter, even if it wasn’t your college of choice.
Not getting a call back from the interview you aced.
Making the decision that this one person is who you will spend the rest of your life with.
Childbearing….every time.
When your child isn’t invited to the social with the rest of their friend group.
Your boss says you are not making the cut.
Your best friend at work gets promoted over you.
You are fired from the job that birthed your workaholism.
The rest of this life with this one person?
Temporary empty nest; the kids are all away at college.
Empty, empty nest; they don’t return after college.
Your kids don’t answer the phone when you call or respond immediately to texts.
And don’t necessarily return the call (they aren’t mad; they just have their own lives).
The child watches the parent reverse roles; you now care for them.
The ones who raised us are no longer here.
We fight like hell to cheat aging.
Retirement…now what?
Looking for meaning in our waning years.
There Is A Time For Everything
Without the pain, we don’t know the joy of the life God has for us. Are heaven and hell two sides of the same world? As Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 illustrates, there is a time for everything under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (NIrV):
1 There is a time for everything.
There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.
2 There is a time to be born.
And there’s a time to die.
There is a time to plant.
And there’s a time to pull up what is planted.
3 There is a time to kill.
And there’s a time to heal.
There is a time to tear down.
And there’s a time to build up.
4 There is a time to cry.
And there’s a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad.
And there’s a time to dance.
5 There is a time to scatter stones.
And there’s a time to gather them.
There is a time to hug.
And there’s a time not to hug.
6 There is a time to search.
And there’s a time to stop searching.
There is a time to keep.
And there’s a time to throw away.
7 There is a time to tear.
And there’s a time to mend.
There is a time to be silent.
And there’s a time to speak.
8 There is a time to love.
And there’s a time to hate.
There is a time for war.
And there’s a time for peace.
You May Miss The Joy Without The Pain
It may hurt like hell, but without living through the pain, we may miss the joy. Heaven is ours here today with Christ in this world.
Going to your first sleepover.
Being asked to Homecoming or Prom.
Freedom…your first year at college.
Meeting the one you will spend the rest of your life with.
Starting a career that is more than a job; it’s His calling on your life.
I do….for now and forever.
Holding the new life, you just brought into being
Their first amazing steps
The promotion of all promotions
Your kid’s graduation.
Sitting in your child’s college orientation, tears glistening, as you hold back the overwhelming emotion of “they have their whole lives ahead of them, and God is going to use them in incredible ways.”
Sipping coffee, reading your devotional, and communing with God….because you are an empty nester and you don’t have other responsibilities as the dawn rises.
New seasons of reinventing life….because you can.
Growing up and old with the one you love!
Graduations, weddings, and grandchildren; oh my!
Trips because now you can afford it.
Best shape of your life because you have seen your parents grow into the worst.
A deeper relationship with the Lord, who is with you through it all.
Becoming Me
Becoming me.
It’s a life.
It’s going to hurt like hell.
Refining us for heaven…
…on earth.
