The Tragedy of Today

I am daily reminded that this Earth is not our home. What God created to be beautiful has tragically been tainted by sin and death. Those beautiful, budding, pollen-infested trees outside are causing me pain and suffering. The sweet father-daughter relationship of a precious young lady has been separated by death. I grow tired of waiting weeks to see my wonderful fiancé who is miles away. Running after my ambitions and passions and what I love to do- loving on children and families, namely- is tiring, exhausting, and takes up a lot of my energy and focus. This Earth is not our home.

It is so easy to walk around life focused on all the hard things. Today I felt defeated after running late, getting griped out on the phone at work, and remaining quiet during my English class-intimidated by all the smarter people in the room. Then I felt exhausted because of the work I will have to do to learn what everyone else already seems to know. God created work- but did He create work in the Garden to be such a burdensome and toiling task? I don't think so. It wasn't until the Fall and Sin that people started dying, work became a bother, and people felt distanced from God. All I can gather from this is that we were not created to live in a world full of so much pain.

But the great news? The great news is that there is a Place where there is no pain. No suffering from beautiful and blooming plants, no severed relationships, no death, no sickness, no weariness or hopeless exhaustion. There is a place we were created for that offers so much more than this world could ever give.

Although He created us for a home in Heaven that is yet to come, I believe that He gives us daily reminders of the Coming Age in the little crevices of the daily grind. In the midst of a trying day in a particular second grade classroom, He brought a reminder that my tiny efforts to love on the unloved are actually paying off. My only prayer is that this sweet little girl will understand that I'm just loving her out of obedience to the One who loves her more than we could ever understand- that is, this side of Heaven. On a day when the weight of the world was nearly pulling me down to the dirt of the playground floor, He whispered a gentle reminder that our faithfulness is essential as we walk through the wait. I wait for our Home. I wait for Restoration. But until then, I pray for obedience in this very broken but tragically beautiful world.