Deeper but not as Heavy

Five years living near Washington, D.C. has been expensive. We left the Midwest U.S. with some financial leverage, but we're coming back with baggage. A perfect storm of circumstances have conspired to bury us deeper than we've ever been, BUT IT'S NOT AS HEAVY AS IT USED TO BE...

I celebrated this reality with a friend by phone this morning. Yesterday I prayed that someone would be prompted to reach out to encourage me. This morning at 5:40am a life-long friend now living in Spain "reached out" by the miracle of tele-technology to say, "I care about you and want to know how you're doing." I shared honestly for the next hour, concluding that the darkness is as dark as I've ever seen, and the depth of financial responsibility and need as great as we've ever known, BUT, "It's not as heavy as it used to be."

What a blessing to have learned to live under a heavy weight without being weighed down; for how can a burdened soul live in the fullness of the true reality that he/she is loved as an eternal being who is on a temporary temporal journey that daily affords the wonderful opportunity to tune in to and appreciate the ultimate reality.

Is there a more precious promise than this, Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Critics of Christianity have long leveled this charge, "They're so heavenly-minded that they're no earthly good." Truth is that we are called to be stewards of the work and material goods He has given us to manage, but to not become so entangled and encumbered in them that they steal the joy of the ultimate reality of God's ultimate goodness, the gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life. But Lord, how long until the dawn?

I'll conclude with some verses that always provide solace, and motivate reflection about the meaning and purpose(s) that trials and burdens can serve in our souls.

II Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.