I just finished reading Grace is Greater by Kyle Idleman. It took me several months to get through it and I typically devour books. I struggled often. Because of my struggles, I would put the book down and walk away, shaking my head.
Clearly Kyle had no idea.
I remember hearing a wise person say: “Life is difficult”many moons ago. That was a profound statement to me.
I knew life was difficult. Trust me, I knew! I had experienced quite a few difficult situations in my life. I knew firsthand just how difficult life could be. How painful. How unmanageable.
But I thought it was just me. I thought I was doing something wrong. Anybody with me?
Kyle says the same thing at the end of his book, using different words.
“Life is hard”. Yep!
Then he said: “God is good”. And suddenly I’m struggling, trying to reconcile the two. And I’m no stranger to the things of God, but these things often collide in my world.
You see, I had been trying to make sense out of chaos. That simply doesn’t work. There is no sense to be made out of senseless events. But Kyle added: “Just keep reading”. Just keep trusting that the author of your story has a purpose for the pain, the situation, the events that have torn your life apart and turned your world upside-down.
The part that stinks? According to Kyle, sometimes we won’t know the purpose until after we leave this world.
That’s a hard pill to swallow.
And then I was reading something else that fits right in with what Kyle says in his book and it tied it all together for me. I read about the rocks on Pebble Beach, on the California coast. I read about the raging surf that pounds continuously against the rocks on the shore. The rocks are tossed, turned, rubbed, and ground over and over.
There is a purpose to this relentless pounding: Tourists flock from around the globe to add one of these uniquely crafted beauties to their collection. They are a work of divine art. But right up a bit, there is a cove where rocks abound.
NO. ONE. CARES.
Streams in the Desert says this about those rocks: “So why have these stones been left untouched through all the years? Simply because they have escaped all the turmoil and grinding of the waves. The quietness and peace have left them as they have always been–rough, unpolished, and devoid of beauty-for polish is the result of difficulties.”
That bears repeating: POLISH IS THE RESULT OF DIFFICULTIES.
And did you catch that one part? The quietness and peace have left them as they have always been…
That doesn’t mean we should set up camp in the eye of the chaotic storm and never leave. It doesn’t mean to stay in dysfunction. But it does mean there is a purpose. When God is involved, there is ALWAYS a purpose. Quietness and peace serve a purpose too, but the beauty comes from the hard stuff.
Another fork in the road. Do I trust, even in the storms? Do I trust the process He has put into place for my life?
Do you?
It’s a choice. It always is~
To choose to trust the author of the story.
Out of the chaos.
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