You Are Not Alone

“And it is the very essence of Christianity to face suffering and death not because they are good, not because they have meaning, but because the resurrection of Jesus has robbed them of their meaning,” from Thomas Merton’s No Man Is an Island. 

In my teens and early 20’s the world was bright and full of possibilities. Sure, it may have had some tarnished places, but I was sure that hope and a little bit of elbow grease would shine it up into something beautiful. 

In my late 20’s, my beautiful world broke into pieces. (I don’t know if it happens to everyone at that age, but many of my friends and acquaintances also experienced similar life-changing circumstances in their 20’s and 30’s). The glass floor shattered beneath my feet and I plunged into the darkness of doubt and depression. My loss felt so complete, so devastating that I felt sure no one could possibly understand. 

In my mid-30’s, I began to realize that I was not the only one who had experienced such earth-shattering devestations. I looked around at a friend’s party recently and saw so many stories. The retirement-age lady who had cared for her mother through dementia and was now caring for a sickly father-in-law. The young mother with young children and a debilitating autoimmune condition. The family dealing with more questions than answers about their children’s genetic conditions. The family in ministry trying to hold the fragmented pieces of their broken relationships together. 

And yet, here we are, united in our sufferings with Jesus who also suffered. He gives us joy and hope. In Philippians 3:!0, the apostle Paul tells us, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death.” (CSB) 

In the book of James we are told to “consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2-4, The Message). 

I don’t know about you, but I generally try to get out of difficult situations as quickly as possible. Waiting through the doubt and darkness does not come easily to me, but this is exactly what James tells us we are supposed to do. And as we wait, we are steeped, like a tea bag in hot water, while our true flavors are revealed. Sometimes the revealing in my own life has not been pretty. I’m afraid that I’ve often left the water muddied, instead filled with the full-bodied aroma of tea. 

Jesus is so very patient with us as we travel through the joys and adversities of life. He keeps working in us, teaching us how to respond to the trials of this life. Take courage, dear heart. You are not alone. He walks beside you all the way.