Reflections on Faith

Today is a special day. I finally have time to blog again and a way to blog. Today is my birthday (well it was my birthday when I wrote this, but a couple of days have passed now) and that seemed the perfect excuse to take the day off from work and catch up on, well, everything.

Since I have a thousand and one things to accomplish today, I did the logical thing and went to Starbucks first thing this morning and ordered a venti mocha and set out to accomplish a to do list as long as my arm. First things first, post on my sadly neglected blog. So, I turned on my favorite Pandora station set to praise music or “God music” as my girls call it. Breathing a sigh of relief, I settled down in a comfortable chair with my mocha and started to write. Then, my computer crashed. Interestingly enough, my computer’s hard drive completely crashed back in September which played a big role in my absence from blogging. Hmm, not sure what to think about this. Fortunately, after running some diagnostic software, my computer is up and running again.

Another bump in this long road called life. Just one small bump is no biggie, but our life is starting to feel like an off-roading experience. We have had a lot of bumps in the road this year, but I am clinging to the promise that God has not forgotten our family. I love “As Long as You are Glorified” by Mark Altrogge and sing it often. If you do not have this song in your playlist, trust me, you should! “Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings, Yet not welcome any pain. Shall I thank You for days of sunshine, yet grumble in days of rain. Shall I love you in times of plenty, then leave You in days of drought. Shall I trust when I reap the harvest, but when in winter winds blow then doubt?”

In my own life, I see an interesting pattern arising. I have more faith during the bigger trials we are called to face and exhibit a dismal lack of faith during the smaller trials. For example, when we found out about my retinal disorder, I have found great peace in drawing on the promises of a God who provides light in a dark world. When both of our laptops crashed in the course of several months, I pouted like a two-year-old who just had their sucker stolen. When we received a referral for a child with significantly more special needs than we had initially expected, Chris and I prayed and again were at peace (more on that story to come!). However, when our car engine seized up and we unexpectedly had to buy a new vehicle, you might have mistaken me for a toddler!

Is it because the large obstacles are so insurmountable that I can’t think about conquering them without Christ? Is it because when the problems are less significant, I still think I retain some semblance of control over the situation?

Whatever the reason, my prayer is that this year I will exhibit faith through all situations! God is our God through the sunshine as well as the snow, rain, and wind (which, if you live in NM, you will know that is way worse than rain or snow!). He is God through the cars and computers breaking down and through our bodies breaking down. He is God and He is always good.

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; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
(2 Corinthians 4:7-12 ESV)