Pain and honesty

Pain. It's a part of living in a fallen world, not only because we are fallen, but also because we are humans that need to grow and learn. Even Jesus learned obedience by the things that He suffered. Why, then, would we fight the pain, try to hide the struggles we face, and pretend that maturity is all about prosperity? It isn't. At least not in my Bible, and certainly not in my life.

In fact, over the past 7 years since God challenged us to live in a new level of faith, we've also felt more pain and suffered more hardship. The pain seems to come in direct proportion to the joy, the struggle in the same measure as the faith. In Psalms we read that we will face hard times then call upon God and He will answer us and we will glorify Him. I think that's the point-- that God is glorified when we call upon Him and He answers. It's the middle of the story, the wait between the calling and His answer that is hard. And we have the incredible opportunity to walk through that part of the story with God Himself as our firm foundation and with family and friends who choose to walk with us.

Once more I've come back to the blessing of walking this journey together. And that is only possible when we are transparent in godly ways, when we share the truth of our story. And when we see the truth of our individual stories, we will also see more of the real glory of a God who cares and delivers.

Since I've used up my latest posts rambling about thoughts, I've forgotten to mention that Garry is in Arizona for the next week and a half. He is in meetings regarding the future of the aviation safety program and various other things in NTM Aviation. We personally and as an organisation are asking God for clarity regarding His plans and ways. The explanation would be yet another long post, but I wanted to let you know what we're up to in regards to the safety program. The boys and I are home, getting into a new school year and still trying to corral life into a bit more order and routine.