Beautiful things

I woke up this morning with this song in my head.  The beauty of God's plan amazes me.  It amazes me how He can transform the aches and pains of our life into beauty.  The creativity of His plan is incredible.

Take this for example: two summers ago, I went into the dentist to get a cavity filled; not a fun process, but a necessary one.  In the process, I ended up speaking with a woman who, come May, I get to call my mother-in-law.  Through the irritation of a damaged tooth, I met a man who has become the love of my life, who seemed impossible, who loves God, people, and Africa, who cares for me and draws me closer to the LORD daily.  Beautiful things out of dust.

As I reflect on the past year, I'm amazed by how much God has grown me.  And growth comes through growing pains: facing lies in my life, conflicts with loved ones, loose in the pruning process, awareness of my own sinfulness.  Yet through it all, God has transformed my heart, transformed my life.  He's molded me into who He as created me to be.  And I praise Him!  I thank Him for His patience and grace.  I thank Him for seeing beauty in this speak of dust.

Pain

Pain is a topic that I've been wrestling with lately as well. As people, we tend to run from pain.  We tend to fear pain.  We find ways to distract ourselves when we feel uncomfortable: we flee the situation, thought, or emotion. We numb, deny, devalue, or distract away our pain.  But pain has a purpose.  The pain in my foot tells me that something is wrong, that something needs to be attended to.  If I choose to ignore the pain and run anyway, I could end up seriously injuring myself.  Without acknowledging the pain, I can't give it the time and attention that it needs.  If I don't admit the hurt, I can't heal.  This doesn't mean that we're to dwell in our pain or seek out ways to hurt ourselves.  It simply means that we must take the time to acknowledge our pain and give it time and attention to heal that we may be healthy again and grow stronger from it.  Pain doesn't go away from ignoring it; pain continues until we deal with it.

I think another piece of pain is also accepting that it is a part of life.  I think part of the reason that we long for a pain-free life is because something deep in our souls tell us this is not how life is meant to be; this is not what we were created for.  And that piece of us is right!  God didn't create pain; pain is a result of sin in the world.  Yet praise God that He hasn't left us in hopeless brokenness!  He has promised a world of restoration, and not just for the future, but also for now!  Look at the beauty of the human body: when you get a scrap, you don't bleed infinitely; though God did not design one's body to experience pain and evil, He has graciously adapted it for healing; quickly white blood cells respond to the scrap and a new layer of skin is created to heal the body.  And so God also heals our hearts.  He graciously gives us the hope and peace of His perfect plan.  Though in this world we will have trouble, we may take heart, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).  We didn't fear or flee from pain, but rather accept it as a part of fallen creation knowing that God is greater than our pain.  There are times when are pain is too much for us, but it is never too much for God.  God is bigger than our pain.  He is our strength and source of healing.