Suicide

"BE PATIENT, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." (James 5:7-8)

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Christians know suicide is not an option. It's a sin. It's murder, simple as that (Exodus 20:13). Even so, I've thought about it. (This was long before I had a kid). I'm willing to bet that everyone with a chronic illness has considered suicide at one point or another. Someone very dear to me attempted it at the same time I was contemplating it, making it somehow more realistic for me to do, more attainable, and yet the pain it causes others is simply too high a price to bring an end to my own suffering, the sinfulness of the act notwithstanding.

No matter how unbearable living life gets, our Savior suffered far worse on our behalf, and to taste of His suffering is--believe it or not--a blessing (2 Corinthians 4:7-18; 1 Peter 4). But it is so hard. It's so hard that Satan, the clever liar that he is, whispers to us in our darkest moments that we can choose to be with God on our own terms and finally be at peace. After all, He says He loves us, right?

Right. And Christ died for the sin of suicide, too (Mark 3:28-30). For the baptized children of God who succumb to the lies of sweet release, we understand. God knows their hearts, and while He punishes the unrepentant who commit sins willingly, He does not punish the weak for losing a battle with their weakness. He died for the weak (Romans 5:6). He died for our darkest moments and for what those moments drive us to, for our Gethsemane when the strength of angels is not enough for we who are not perfect.

All I can say is that if you feel like going home, go to church. There is your home until God calls you Home for good and in His own time. And He will call you when He, and you, are ready. Your suffering is not forever. There are so few things in this life we can count on, but we can count on the fact that Christ saw to that for you (Revelation 21:4; John 16:22).

*Please note that "some American dude" is country musician and song writer Charlie Rich, also known as the "Silver Fox," now deceased.

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Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from 2 Corinthians 4:9

Pain Rehab buddies, remember to breathe!

"We are struck down, -------> 5 count inhale

but not destroyed." -------> 5 count exhale

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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Prayers, Food, & Physical Labor

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." (Psalm 46:1-3)

Last night, a tornado ripped through the very heart Wessington Springs, SD. One injury and no fatalities, thank God, as all the townspeople were accounted for in a matter of hours. (I love South Dakota). Prayers, food and water, and physical labor are all equally useful and greatly appreciated. 

Wessington Springs, SD 6/18/14
Photo Credit: NBC

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)

For the Bullied

Crowning with Thorns
Dirk van Baburen, 1623
Matthew 27:27-31
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"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil." (1 Peter 3:13-17)

For the purposes of this article, "bullying" will be defined as unwarranted aggressive physical or verbal abuse that is meant to make the target feel inferior. Through the detached pseudo-anonymity provided by sites like Facebook and YouTube, we feel able to type horrible things each other with our keyboards we'd never dream of saying with our mouths. But this behavior isn't unique to children. Adults endure it in all sorts of forms: from our spouses, our bosses and coworkers, our neighbors and our friends, and as Christians are becoming an increasingly popular and accepted target for bullies, from people we don't even know. Being bullied is one of the most difficult forms of persecution for anyone to endure, and it's one of the many abuses our Lord endured during His passion that finally ended in His death. 

Christ on the Cross

Fransisco de Zurbaránn

1598-1664

"For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust." (1 Peter 2:15-18)

Now the hardest part: we are called to endure this abuse in kindness. That doesn't mean that we don't stand up for ourselves, and it doesn't mean that we suffer silence, but all that we do to "silence the ignorance of foolish people," we do out of love for them and for God (Ephesians 4:15). We protect ourselves and those who are weaker than us, but we don't fight violence with violence. For the sake of the other, it's our responsibility to help our brothers and sisters who are continually sinning (Matthew 18:15-17) (and yes, even those who hate us are our neighbors whom we are called to love -- Matthew 5:43). 

In short, we lovingly tell the bully that what they're doing is wrong, we turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), and we tell them and anyone else who might be watching why (1 Peter 3:14).

Bullying is a sin (Mark 12:31). It's a sin against you, and it's a sin against God who loves you, and those who deliberately continue in sin receive no mercy on account of Christ's sacrifice, but only judgement (Hebrews 10:26). It's a fate far worse than the taunting and ridicule we endure—even though that taunting hurts us to our very core—and one we should never, ever wish it on even the most despicable of people (Luke 9:51-56). So, we (or our parents) call the bully out in private and point their sin out to them. If the bully doesn't listen to us, we ask for help from teachers, parents, friends, and other authorities (Matthew 18:15-17). If that still doesn't work and life is being made unbearable, we finally "shake off the dust" and change schools or jobs or whatever we have to in order to remove ourselves from the abuse (Luke 9:1-6).

Our response would look a lot different if our primary goal was to get the bullying to stop, to make the bully feel as bad as they make us feel, or our own personal safety and well-being. It's not. Our primary goal is always to bring all people--no matter who they are or what they've done--to Christ in love.

Way, way, way easier said than done. But do not lose heart. Your fight to endure ridicule and cruelty while remaining kind was ultimately won by Christ on the cross when He uttered the kindest words ever spoken on behalf of any tormentor: "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Can we do the same? We are not God. All we can do is our best to love those who hate us, and that's all we need to do because Christ died for those who hated Him. And that includes you, me, and the bully.

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)

All of Creation Groans

"For we know that the WHOLE CREATION has been GROANING together in the PAINS of childbirth until now. And NOT ONLY the creation, but we OURSELVES, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, GROAN inwardly as we WAIT eagerly for ADOPTION as sons, the REDEMPTION of our bodies. For IN THIS HOPE WE WERE SAVED. Now hope that is seen is not Hope. For who hopes for WHAT he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we WAIT FOR IT with PATIENCE."

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." (Romans 8:22-30)

Moore, Oklahoma
Source: The Atlantic

Sometimes I, very sinfully, hate the purposes for which it seems we were called, the paths that we appear to be destined for. Called to die at an early age, called to outlive our children, called to live a sickly life, called to suffer with cancer, called to lose everything in a matter of seconds... But then I remember our true purpose and our true path: to be conformed to the image of Christ. We were destined to be saved from the beginning of time. All the subsequent destinies and purposes that both haunt us and please us have their place in God's plan for us and for all His children, but we have the blessing of knowing the divine point of it all: Christ crucified and risen for us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we look at our world today with groanings to deep for words, our eyes turn towards You, the Creator of all things both seen and unseen. We ask that You keep the injured and the grieving in Your care and give them strength to endure what seems impossible. We also ask, as You welcome home with joy Your children who have left this world too soon for our understanding, that some of that joy might slip through this sadness and into our own hearts and the hearts of those that are breaking, settling all in the secure knowledge that we will be reunited one day through Your dear Son, who died that all may live again, free from fear and grief and pain.

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Works without Faith

"WHAT GOOD is it, my BROTHERS, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith SAVE him? If a brother or sister is POORLY clothed and lacking in daily food, and ONE of you says to them, “Go in PEACE, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, WHAT GOOD is that? So also FAITH by itself, if it does not have works, IS DEAD." (James 2:14-26)

Jesus carved a trail to Heaven as He traveled from Bethlehem to Calvary, leaving glimpses of the salvation He would earn for us through His own suffering. Satan fell from heaven like lightning with every demon that the Christ and His apostles cast out, with every illness they healed, with every sin they forgave, with every person they baptized, and with every word they preached. Jesus left us a clear path to follow to Heaven through Word and Sacrament given to us by a new army of pastors.

As you and I follow that path left by our Lord, we, too, are called to leave a trace of the love of God in the good things that we do for one another. Our good works don't earn us a seat in heaven; they don’t even make the path easier to follow. Our heavenly seat is waiting for us, already bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus, and our path to it was never promised to be easy because the world is, after all, still corrupted by sin.

We are commanded to love one another (John 13:34). There's no getting around that. But God’s love is so wonderful that we ought to want to share it in some way. Heaven is so fantastic that we ought to want our sinful world to be like it. So, we punish the wicked, we feed the hungry, we give shelter to the homeless, we help out a neighbor whose basement is flooded, we hold the hand of a friend who is ill, and we try to be patient with our children and loved ones. We try to do good, not to be like God, but to show the world what God is like. Not perfectly, no, and not as often as we should and not without some grumbling and expectation of something in return, but still, we share the love of God as best we can. 

Those works do not bring our faith to life, but they are the result of our living faith born of a baptism into a living God.

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from John 13:34

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"Just as I have loved you, -------> 5 count inhale

love one another." -------> 5 count exhale

At the Tomb

"NOW ON THE FIRST DAY of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb... Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my LORD, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" (John 20:1, 11-15a)

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When Mary Magdalene stood facing the empty tomb of Jesus that blessed Easter Morning, she burst into tears. Jesus wasn't there. She'd watched Him die in the most brutal way imaginable only three days earlier, and all she wanted to do was visit His body.

We taste a small portion of that same sadness we pray for God to heal us, and we stay sick. We feel a little of that helplessness when we ask Him to save a loved one from death and watch them die anyway. We know some of her anguish when we beg God to help us out of trouble but seem to struggle alone. We feel her heartbreak a little when we lose our ability to walk despite our years of offering and service in God's house, when we turn on the news to bombs and gunfire in our very own streets, when our parents lose their minds to dementia, when our bodies betray us, when each day is filled with pain. 

We know her agony when we weep at the tombs of our loved ones, of our health, of our hopes and dreams and expectations. In those dark hours, you and I, like Mary, fail to recognize Jesus for who He really is. All we see is a man who couldn't save Himself, a man who has disappeared and left us all alone.

But in the middle of all that aching sadness, you and I are blessed because we know now what Mary Magdalene didn't know then: the whole story of the Christ, the Son of God. We know that what looked like weakness was actually the greatest, most powerful miracle in all of heaven and earth. The Son of God sacrificed Himself for us. Our seemingly infinite list of pain and suffering does have an end: it ended on that terrible and beautiful cross.

Our lives can seem like one long Good Friday. Sin remains in us and all around us, BUT it does not consume us. Take heart: your Easter Morning is coming because His Good Friday has already been. In the meantime, God is with you as you weep at the tombs of what should have been, though Satan would have you believe otherwise. God is with you for Christ’s sake because Christ chose to die for you, and nothing can sever you from God’s love even though the world has severed from you from those you love best like the grave separated Mary from her Savior. But only for a little while. Nothing will keep you and your loved ones from that same Resurrection of Jesus. He has overcome the world, and like an Easter morning following a Good Friday, our grief will be replaced with joy.

Knowing all that, spending time weeping at tombs seems a fairly silly thing to do.

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from John 20:15

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"Why are you weeping? -------> 5 count inhale

Whom are you seeking?" -------> 5 count exhale

My Sacrifice

But worthless is my sacrifice: I own it.

Yet, Lord, for love’s sake

Thou wilt not disown it.

Thou wilt accept my gift

in Thy great meekness,

nor shame my weakness.

“O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?”

by Johann Heermann, 1585-1647

God loves you. He wants your best no matter how futile you think it is. Very few of us are brain surgeons saving lives, millionaires giving millions to the church, or Mother Teresas living amongst the wretched and starving. Some of us can't even work at all. If God wanted us all to be so outwardly spectacular, we would be. He is perfectly meek and, so very unlike the world, He loves His brain surgeons and super-nuns every bit as much as His grocery baggers. He died for us all, and He's never ashamed of what we are (or are not) able to do in terms of work so long as it is always done in His name. As usual, we could learn a lot from Him when it comes to how we treat each other.

No matter what great things we can do, we can never repay the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf. Thankfully, we don't have to, so that's not the point of the work we do. We work for God and for our neighbor. Whatever your job is or isn't, whatever your calling, give it your best. Remember what Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40b). Nothing you can do is meaningless in the eyes of the Son of God who loves you enough to die for you.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service,
but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God 
who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation
of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

For more on work, click here.

Our Dark Gethsemane

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"Go to dark Gethsemane, 

ye that feel the tempter's power.

Your Redeemer's conflict see,

watch with Him one bitter hour.

Turn not from His griefs away,

learn of Jesus Christ to pray."

"Go to Dark Gethsemane"

by James Montgomery
1771-1854
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Carl H. Bloch
Gethsemane Altarpiece
19th century

We are encouraged throughout Scripture to ask our Father for what we want in prayer (Philippians 4, Matthew 6). But knowing what we want Him to save us from isn't nearly as important as knowing where our dark Gethsemane is. Our refuge. Our sanctuary.

God's will is done no matter what we ask Him for. Prayer doesn't change Him, but it's not futile. It changes us. If His will is that your suffering continue—and often times it is—He will send an angel to comfort you in one way or another. We just have to know where to look, where Gethsemane is. Remember in the end, His will is that we be with Him in Paradise, even though we, like Jesus, may be left to suffer on a cross first. But we, unlike Jesus, will never be forsaken because He was forsaken first. You're going to make it.

"And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him." (Luke 22:41-43)

Click here to find a Gethsemane near you.

Grave, Where Is Thy Vict'ry?

"For to me to LiVE is Christ, and to DiE is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful LABOR for me. Yet which I shall CHOOSE I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to DEPART and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on YOUR account." (Philippians 1:21-24)

Édouard Manet
The Funeral, 1867

Generally, the world fears death. Religious or not, we do whatever we can to avoid it for as long as possible. We don't like to dwell on it. Three days of bereavement is all we need for preparation and a funeral, and then we return to normal. Then on the other hand, the world views death as a friend when it's convenient enough. If someone is suffering, we long to end that suffering by any means necessary, as though death is preferable to enduring physical pain. That's a harsh reality for those of us in lifelong chronic pain.

And that's just about right, in an imperfect sort of way. As a hospital deaconess, I've prayed for death to come quickly as many times as I've begged God to keep it at bay. Death is cruel and cold, an enemy to be feared. It was brought about by sin. It's as unnatural as we can get, and it hurts. But because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, death is also our doorway to Paradise, to where Jesus is and where pain is no more. It's rest. It's sleep. It’s temporary. 

So why not seek death out as a friend? Because to live is Christ. To live is to suffer, not pointlessly, not endlessly, but as Christ suffered. To live is to bring our brothers to Christ, and to die is to be with Him ourselves. Death will come soon enough, and with it Paradise. But until it does, we are needed here regardless of how much we are able to accomplish and contribute. And so we ought neither to avoid it at all costs, nor should we seek it out. Death is God's domain, not ours. It's another example of the paradox that is our lives lived in the world but not of the world.
And when JESUS had entered, He said to them, "WHY are you making a commotion and WEEPING? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they LAUGHED at Him."

(Mark 5:39-40)

Suggested verse to repeat if it's from a difficult day is from 1 Corinthians 15:55a

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"Death is swallowed up -------> 5 count inhale

in victory." -------> 5 count exhale

Nothing Quite so Frightening as Freedom

“For FREEDOm CHrisT has set us FRee; stand firm thereFore, and DO NOT suBmiT again to a yoke of SLAVeRY. For you were caLLeD to freedom, brothers. Only DO NOT use your FREEDOM as an opportunity for the flesh, but through LOVE seRve one another.”

(Galatians 5:1, 13)

After horrific man-made tragedies such as 9/11, the Newton shooting and countless massacres that fill our collective conscience, we often wonder why God (all-powerful, loving, and perfectly just) didn't stop it before it happened. Why didn't He save them?

Could God have prevented all these horrible events? Sure, He could bind our wills to His. He could have even prevented the fall of man from grace. But He didn't. That's the frightening thing about freedom. We are free to damn ourselves, free to make mistakes, to mistreat others and to be mistreated by others. Free to hate God, and with the fall of Adam, we are bound to.

And with the Resurrection of Christ, we are free and able to love Him through His own redeeming love. We are bound to Him in our baptism, strengthened and renewed in Word and Sacrament so that we can be damned to temporary suffering by the abhorrent misuse of the gift of freedom God has given His wayward creation—suffering enough to make the Son of God Himself weep, and so we likewise weep until we have no more breath. But once that breath runs out, that suffering ceases and endless joy takes its place.

It is impossible to reconcile the horror of the last few moments of life for victims of such violent atrocities with the idea of a loving God... until we know a God who chose to give His only Son up to murder, a Son who chose to endure those very same atrocities for us, to bear our suffering on His innocent shoulders unto death and to experience those same final moments of terror. 

Why do we constantly do such awful things to each other? SIN. Why doesn't God stop us? HE WILL, when the time is right.

Until then, we appreciate freedom for what it is: a beautiful gift wracked by the consequences of sin. And we pray for strength against the temptation to take advantage of that gift, against the desire to become a slave to that freedom, and we try with all our sinful hearts to love one another as we have first been loved by Him. Exercise your freedom to not act as so many have chosen to act, curb your words and your actions, and refuse to be destroyed by them, neither in life nor in death.

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Suggested verse to repeat if its a difficult day is from Romans 8:21a

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"Creation itself -------> 5 count inhale

will be set free." -------> 5 count exhale

Election

I try to update this blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but I had to share this today. As far as who is elected, well, we do what we can: learn, pray for wisdom, and make the best choices possible, but in the end--no matter what happens--it is in God's hands. (My Reverend husband warns me, however, that it is not appropriate to say it's God's "fault," so... that's a fine line we're not going to cross).

http://xkcd.com


ABOUT THIS BLOG

ALL Saints

"See what kind of LOVE the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of GOD; and so we are. The reason why the worlD does not know us is that it did NOT know Him. BEloveD, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not YET appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be LiKe HiM, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hoPes in Him purifies himself as He is Pure." (1 John 3:1-3)

Yesterday, we celebrated All Saints Day: a feast day in the life of the church where those of us living here remember all the saints who have gone to heaven before us, all the while trying to be neither too sad nor too envious. Yeah, okay. We know those we love are in heaven, so busy with Jesus and all the company of heaven it'll be only an instant for them until they see us again. But for us... the pain the separation of death causes those left alive is unparalleled regardless of our faith.

What kind of love is this that hurts so badly??? I thought love was supposed to be patient and kind and accompanied by wonderful things like tingling butterflies in our stomachs and warm happy feelings of safety and contentment. But it’s not. At least not all the time. That's why Paul's so often quoted exposition on love goes on to say: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” (1 Corinthians 13:7). Even bad things. No, ESPECIALLY bad things. After all, good things are easy to bear, believe, hope, and endure.

The kind of love that calls you and me children of God (weak and weary and sinful though we are) is not the kind of love that waxes and wanes with passion like a fire left untended until finally all that's left is ashes. It's not the kind of love that disappears as soon as sadness and stress outweigh the warm fuzzies and physical attraction. It's the kind of love that bears the weight of our sins, our sorrows, our illnesses and our imperfections, it's the kind of love that endures the pangs of Satan, sin, and yes even death. It's the kind of love reaches beyond the cold, tearful loneliness of the grave and holds fast to the knowledge that God also loves those whom we love more than we can ever imagine with the kind of love that led Jesus to die for them and for us.

So, hold fast to that painful, sad love you feel for the saints who are in heaven today (Grandma, I miss you so, so much), but smile with your tears. Give thanks for them that they're with God today where the world longs to be. It’s the kind of love that hurts, I know, because you miss them so much sometimes it makes you sick. But it’s the kind of love that saves. It's the kind of love that lasts longer than the grave can hold any of us, and it's the kind of love that does not disappoint.

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from Psalm 130:6

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"My soul waits for the Lord, -------> 5 count inhale

more than a watchmen for the morning." -------> 5 count exhale

For more on GRIEF, click here.

The Rose Garden I Was Never Promised

“IN this world, YOU will have triBuLatioN.”

(John 16:33b)

I get upset when I'm having a particularly difficult day, and my husband (God bless him) tries to console me by saying, "It'll be okay." Okay? OKAY??? Do you know what “okay” means for a Christian?? Have you read the Bible?? “Okay” is fire, flood, wilderness, tribulation, temptation, martyrdom, suffering to the -enth degree! I could die tomorrow quite painfully, and that would be "okay" by Biblical standards! ...now, I admit that I'm generally overly dramatic on my difficult days, but what I'm saying is true nonetheless. Thousands of pages of promises in that Bible, and not once does God ever promise that our life in the world will be easy. In fact, He promises the exact opposite. Several times. And blatantly.

• "Don't be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you." (1 John 3:13) 
• "When you walk through fire..." (Isaiah 43:2).
• "In this world you will have tribulation." (John 16:33)
• "Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God." (Acts 22:14b)
• "I have not come to bring peace but a sword." (Matthew 10:34b)
• "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12)

Hates me? !!! WHEN we walk through fire... Tribulation, tribulation, tribulation. Well, great. The fact that I'm in pain and probably won't get better in this lifetime has Biblical backing. And if I DO get better, something else is going to happen to stress me out anyway. Aren't you glad you bothered to read this post??

Wait a minute. God wouldn't leave His children in such a predicament without hope. Jesus' promise of tribulation in John's Gospel goes on: "In this world, you will have tribulation, BUT take heart; I have overcome the world." So... what does that mean? Does that mean if I'm baptized, I'll never get sick? Well, clearly that's not the case. If I go to church, I'll sleep better at night? My car won't break down? I'm going to win the lottery? No, no, and no. Well, what is God promising us then, if it's not a rose garden?

He promises us salvation. And I don't mean only the salvation that comes from finally being with Jesus in Paradise, the muddle-through-until-you-die-kind of salvation. (I don't want to short-change the wonderful gift of Heaven, but that's a long ways off, and I have serious trouble getting through the next 5 minutes). No, I mean salvation that brings relief in the tangible here and now, today, smack dab in the middle of our suffering.

But I'm still in pain. Either God is lying, or I'm looking for relief in the wrong place. Where's our "okay," chronic pain sufferers? Not where we thought it was, that's for sure. "Okay" is living with the pain, right? It's not being pain-free because that's just never going to happen. Christians, where's our "relief"? "Relief" is knowing that God is right here with us every excruciating minute, every difficult day, every tear, every bout of anger, every bitter disappointment. It's not being stress or sadness-free because that's just never going to happen.

"Behold, I am doing a new thing.
    Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a path in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:19)

God doesn't take the wilderness away. He's made a path to get us through it. That path is...? You guessed it: JESUS. Jesus overcame the world when He took up every burden we bear today and died for every one of them on that cross like a criminal, for you and for me. Not only for the bad things we did, but for all the bad things that happen to us. Because of Him, because His love for you is such that He gave up His very life to save yours, God the Father will never, ever let you suffer alone. Not even for a second.

Let's face it, fellow sufferers of chronic pain: being "okay" doesn't mean we're pain free. Let's face it, brothers and sisters in Christ: being "saved" doesn't mean we don't suffer. So yes, you're right, oh love of my life. I am going to be okay, if I never get better and if I die tomorrow in the most painful way imaginable. Okay has nothing to do with not hurting. It has everything to do with always, always, always having the love of God.

Suggested verse to repeat to yourself if it's a difficult day is from Matthew 28:20b

Words of Jesus Himself.

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

“I am with you always ---------------> 5 count inhale

Until the end of the age.” -----------> 5 count exhale

For more on being okay, click here.

I hate this part.

I hate it when everything seems to be going along fine and suddenly I'm blindsided by some new tragedy so fierce I can scarcely breathe. The kind of event that leaves you perched on the edge of your bed rocking back and forth for ten minutes before you notice what you're doing, thinking, "How am I going to get through this?" What's "this"? "This" is the loss of a loved one, devastating test results, some disappointment too profound for words, some injustice so blatant it makes you physically ill, the loss of health, livelihood, home, life, family, marriage or a child...

Oh sure, I've thought that before about other events that have taken place in my life, and I've obviously made it through so far, so much the worse for wear but more or less intact. But I can't seem to trust precedent any more than I can trust God. I hate the parts of my life where all I have left—all I have to do—is trust God. How sinful is that?? Pretty d***, I'd say. Which comes as no surprise to God.

So God takes the sin away through my baptism into Christ's sacrifice, and now, although I am still certainly a sinner, I am also a saint. And ever so very slowly, I begin to see that all I have to do is trust God. That's all I CAN DO, that's true, and that fact leaves me vulnerable and helpless and afraid and endlessly anxious. But mercifully, it's also all I NEED TO DO. And that fact leaves me right where I ought to be: frightened but faithful. Simultaneously sinner and saint.

In honor of the 495th anniversary of the Reformation, it's only fitting that I quote Martin Luther's statement of both unimaginable power and helplessness, the very same statement I utter today in less heroic circumstances but with a resolute shrug nonetheless: "HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER, SO HELP ME GOD. AMEN."

"WE are NOT OF those wHo ShRiNK BACk and are dEstRoYeD, BUT of those who HAVE fAiTH and preserve tHeir SOULS."

(Hebrews 10:39)

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from Hebrews 10:39b

Pain Rehab buddies, remember to breathe!

"We are those -------> 5 count inhale

who have faith." -------> 5 count exhale

And the Truth Will Set You Free

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, "You will become free’?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-36)

Being a "slave to sin" doesn't just mean that we can't help but do bad things and think bad thoughts. We can't, but it also means that every single one of us who practices sin (i.e. every single one of us) is a slave to the results of sin. We are slaves to our ill-working bodies, to pain and suffering, the pangs of broken hearts and the agony of rejection. It's a fact made all too clear to me as I find myself once again shackled to this wretched I.V. filled with $8,000 worth of medication that creates nearly as much pain as it cures while I endure 5 hours of blood pressure spikes and leg-migraines. And as I watch this liquid that's literally worth more than gold make its way into my reluctant veins, I wonder: Do I have to wait for death to be set free?

Yes and no. Yes, I will be cured in heaven, but right here and now, I am as free to be miserable as I am free to be content. I am free to hate this stupid life of mine and everything that's gone wrong in it, and I am free to love it AND all the suffering it's heaped upon my shoulders.

That's Christians for you: free to be happy in misery. Who else can boast of that quality?? ...who else would want to? Suffering is a factual part of everyone's life, Christian or not, and I'd rather be happy with it than miserable because of it. Of course, it doesn't always work that way. Fortunately, I'm also free to be reminded that for crying out loud, my life isn't that bad. Lots of people have to be tethered to I.V.'s several times a week. Haven't you ever heard the saying, "I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet"? It's not from the Bible (Wikipedia claims it's either Persian or Russian in origin), but it's a good adage to ponder nonetheless.

Yeah, I should be content no matter what my lot, and not just because my lot could be worse. Jesus has secured my salvation, and nothing else should matter. SHOULD. As my college debate coach so often scolded in his best I-love-you-but-you're-kind-of-an-idiot tone, "Don't turn an ought into an is." If nothing else did matter to me, I wouldn't need Jesus in the first place. But the truth is I am a slave to sin. The truth also is: for the times when I'm not content, for the times when I so foolishly cling to the old, comfy security blanket of "Woe Is Me" and glare at my I.V. with tears in my eyes, there is forgiveness.

That's the TRUTH that sets us free. So, feel free to cry about your lot now and again. After all, it still hurts to have no shoes, I don't care how many feet you've been blessed with. Things are other than they ought to be, and that reality hurts enough to make the Son of God Himself cry (see the post "Lord, If You Had Been Here"). Today, I will open up my Difficult Day Box and wait for the good feelings to gradually replace the bad like they always do. Free? Indeed.

Suggested verse to repeat if it's a difficult day is from John 8:32b

PRC buddies, remember to breathe!

"The truth -------> 5 count inhale

will set you free." -------> 5 count exhale