Summer Begins at Bag End
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
The Hobbit was published in 1937 and a beautiful hardback edition came out in 1987 to celebrate the 50th anniversary. I was 23 and decided that I would like to read that version of the classic to my kids someday, so I bought it. Last night, I took that old book from the bottom shelf of the bookcase, dusted it off, and sat down with it next to my son's bed as James and I journeyed together to Middle Earth, specifically to a particular hobbit-hole in the neighborhood of The Hill, where we met Bilbo Baggins and a strange wizard named Gandalf. Tonight, we are likely to meet a number of dwarfs.
Truly good things are worth waiting for.
God Will Never Give Us More Than We Can Handle
A dear friend got me thinking about this verse yesterday:No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (I Cor. 10:13)How I hear it all the time is: "God will never give us more than we can handle." I think that's where we run into trouble.I'm not going to analyze the scripture today. I'm excited that I've learned how, or at least, how to start. But I just want to point out a couple of things. Paul wrote about temptation. And he never said it was from God, at least not in this text. All he was saying to the Corinthians was that God provides us a way...or a Way...to stand up to the temptation we will all encounter.But as far as the stuff...the really rotten stuff...that is a normal part of life? I don't think this verse has anything to say about it. And I think interpreting it the way we often do is very dangerous. Here's why.Let's be honest for a minute. Sometimes we get more than we can handle. Maybe this has never happened to you. I pray it never does. But it happens. Sometimes it's just...TOO...MUCH. That's where the church comes in. That's where community comes in, if we can put our pride away long enough to let people share our sorrow. And sharing it isn't going to make it go away, it's just going to mean we don't have to suffer alone. And make no mistake, God is not sitting back enjoying our suffering. He just reminds us that He knows what suffering is...maybe even better than we do.But when we think that God will never give us more than we can handle...and then we go through times that are definitely...unquestionably...more than we can handle...well, it's perfectly natural to wonder about this God of ours? Was He lying? Are we not good enough for Him? Are we letting Him down by admitting that THIS is too much?? Or, hey, is He even really there at all? Here's a thought I know for a fact that good Christians have (and I say this because I have a GOOD friend...who is a GOOD Christian...and I'm pretty sure he thinks it): "I've always been taught that God would never give me more than I can handle. THIS is more than I can handle. It's either ME or HIM. Maybe it's HIM."Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes it is loss after loss after loss. Every loss hurts. And sometimes there are too many. And sometimes just one is too much. We lose our jobs...our homes...our friends...our marriages...our minds...our children. Just thinking of those losses brings me incredible sadness, for I know someone who has lost each, sometimes even more than one. But there is a loss greater than any of these, the loss of faith. Watching a friend lose that...or feeling your own slip away...is the last thing any of us want to happen.For now, for today, can we just all admit this one thing? Sometimes, some people will have more than they can handle. In those times, God has not lied. And He has not deserted us. He is there. And He will still be there when things start to get better, which they inevitably do. In the meantime, He has given us a few things to help.He has given us Psalms of lament. Read them. Read them aloud. Scream them if you want to. God's children have been hurting for a very long time. And God has been there before, during, and after the hurt.He has given us the church. There are people to lean on...people to cry with...people to help you do things that you just don't have the strength or will to do...people who share our faith and can give us a little of their own when ours wanes. Only pride keeps us from allowing them to help. Only the feeling that this is my pain and nobody else's. God has put us in community for a reason.He has given us His Spirit. It's hard to be quiet in pain. But if we can be still for just a bit, we may hear the voice of God's Spirit, giving us assurance that it will end...and maybe even ideas of what to do in the meantime.If you are going through a time when you have more than you can handle, I have four final pieces of advice. Remember how many people love you (chances are good I'm one of 'em...chances are 100% that God's one). Remember that it will end. See if you can summon something deep inside and go find someone to help. With anything. Just something that will get you out of yourself for a while.And take an hour and a half and watch "Kung Fu Panda." I'm serious about that.Hebrews 13:5 -- "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Is This The End?
The time I took off from blogging has taken its toll. I'm finding it extremely hard to get back in the habit. To be honest, Facebook is doing a far better job of keeping me connected and allowing me to share bits and pieces of my life. I also just spent an entire semester writing more than I have ever done in such a concentrated amount of time.Another truth is that I'm going through quite a valley right now and I don't like sharing those. They bring everybody down and inspire a lot of "hang in there's." And while I appreciate "hang in there's," I don't really like "hang in there's."I don't believe for a second that the constant succession of things that have knocked me around recently are coincidence. I am both enjoying and doing very well in seminary. I'm starting to get a glimpse of what serving God as a teacher of His Word will be like and I am beyond excited about it. So, sure, the enemy would like to put the kibosh on that. But I've tried to stand in the gap for a large number of people in crisis, all the while sick and a bit "crisised" on my own. Thing is, my faith is only stronger. My resolve is only deeper. So I know that very good things will come of all this. I'm sorry for those few of you who waste time clicking over here. I haven't decided if I'll try harder to get it going again. But if I do, I'll try to let you know. For now, to quote a cliche I'm growing to hate, it is what it is.
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