When we pay attention to the headlines, every day showcases something else people are going to fight about.  Every trend brings out something new we can label and persecute each other over.   The loss and irreparable damage we are experiencing is driving many of us to our absolute limit.  Fear and blame seem to be the real new normal for a lot of us.  And I'll be honest - I have battled anxiety over the world's insanity.  I haven't talked to anyone who hasn't struggled with their mental health in some way over the past year and not all for the same reasons.  But the struggle has been alive and well no matter who you are.  But what if it all had a purpose?  What if every let down and every wall hit was allowed for a greater purpose?

Throughout my 10 years in motherhood, there have been countless times a child has looked to me for assurance that what was happening was okay.  The first time a child experiences a thunderstorm, those questioning eyes come out asking, "What's that?"  In most cases, all it takes is a little explanation and assurance that it's only a thunderstorm and how good the rain is for our plants for the worry to subside.  But what if a bratty older child feeds that fear with threats of a tornado or bad guy at the door?  Before you know it, the fearful child will be in tears and some trauma growing around storms. 

I'm afraid that adulthood hasn't changed us as much as we'd like to think.  As Christians we're happy to profess a firm belief in God and some even try to demonstrate that belief in memes or social media statements, but internally we are still that child looking around for assurance that everything is okay.  The trouble we get into is that we're all so busy listening to that bratty kid who is just trying to rile us up that we completely ignore what our Father has taught us.  Didn't He say all things work together for good for those that love the Lord?  Aren't we warned that trials and tribulations are going to come our way in order to produce perseverance?  Hasn't the church historically grown under times of persecution?  God, in no uncertain terms, has told us to expect trouble and be joyful when it comes.  Why, then, have we convinced ourselves that trouble was never supposed to look like THIS?

Have you considered that this last year of chaos has been preparing you for something?  What if this crazy detour you've been forced to make has been the avenue God is using to make your path straight, as He promises in Proverbs?  Did you think that maybe this was exactly the way things were supposed to go, gut-wrenching losses and all?  In case you haven't noticed, none of us seem to have all the answers to society's woes right now and to claim otherwise is deeply foolish.  Instead, we CAN go back to the author of it all and get our assurance there.  Whatever the purpose is in your weary road, you can be sure it's part of HIS purpose.

What purpose could God have in allowing such strife and commotion?

-To purify our hearts

-To strengthen our faith

-To prepare His people

-To increase the borders of the church

-To bring Him glory

And no matter the suffering some of us are experiencing, what if this was the only way?