I want it all to be easier.
I want to wake up in the morning, choose my path, and do what I love.
I want the decisions to be obvious, the money to be readily available, the children to be always obedient.
I want the fighting to stop, the politicians to be good, the heart not to hurt.
I want to float through life, not fight through it.
I want Eden. I want Heaven. I want them here.
But.
Here is fallen. Here is hard. Here hurts.
Here, people betray those they pledge to love. Here, bodies break and brains deteriorate. Here, children die and hearts break.
Here, this life thing is hard.
But, mercifully, here is not hopeless. Here, in the hardship, is Jesus. Here, in the hurt, the Holy Spirit intercedes. Here, in the hostility, is God.
This week, especially, the hard and hurt have been loud. This week, all around, I see pain and hear, "Why?" Here, this week, I want what isn't, and I want what is to change.
Yet in the hard and in the hurt, light is shining. Faith is growing. Love is abundant.
And for today, for right now, that's enough.
