“So we do not lose heart… For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)
Last week I attended a lunch meeting for the PTA Presidents and School Principals. They had invited a woman from a local Child Advocacy Center to speak on the influx of Sex Trafficking in our area.
I left the luncheon in a deep spiral. Even though my abuse happened over twenty years ago, it felt like yesterday. The grief over losing a dad I never really had, but idealized in my head, was like a wave of ice-cold water thrashing up against my spirit. I cried. Grieved. Mourned. Prayed.
And as I sat at dinner that night processing with Jeff, I complained that this issue kept coming up. I might accept it as part of my story, but I hate that it can still take me out like it did. It’s not often, but it happens. And it stinks.
He leaned into my hurt places and reminded me that this is part of what makes me who I am. It's why I'm strong, resilient, and compassionate. And then I heard a thought I’ve been practicing whisper, 'Nothing has gone wrong here. You're right where you need to be.'
The truth is that God knew this would be part of my story. Before He created me, God knew that the sin in the world would allow space for abuse to happen and happen to me. He did not leave me or forsake me to allow this. Yet He continues to take this broken part of me and make Himself bigger through the process.
Now I get to experience Him as a perfect father. I lean on Him as He makes me whole. Resiliency requires a hardship to come back from, and boy do we all have stuff to come back from, right?
And we will.
Not because we are awesome, but because He is. And He's never left us, never left you, and has been faithful every step of the way.
Maybe you’re walking through a season that feels as if everything has gone wrong. And the truth is that it's not just a thought, it happens to be a fact. Instead of focusing on all that has gone wrong, pivot to the Truth of scripture that says God has everything under His control.
Nothing goes wrong in God's plan, friend. Will you encounter difficulty and affliction? For sure. But God is preparing for us something far beyond our imagination for all eternity.