Sometimes, I just really get so confused with everything that’s going on in my life. I make a plan, and before I can dot my I’s and cross my T’s, they’ve been altered beyond my intentions. Not only that, but I’m also a major creature of habit. I like the TV shows I watch, the places I eat, and the times I drink my coffee (that one is a definite must…), and I really don’t like when any of those things change. Consistency in life makes for a very happy Samantha… but we all know that’s not always how the story goes.
Sometimes, things just change: people move on, loved ones leave, promises get broken, love fades, and friendships die out. Honestly, that’s just life. But why? Why is that the way we were created? Why don’t things last forever, and why do bad things happen to really good people? The thing is, I don’t have a real, true, logical, satisfying answer for that. But I have had a realization that I wish I’d had so long ago.
Recently I’ve come to realize that there are times that God allows things to happen to us because there may be someone down the road who can be helped by what we’ve experienced. Oakwood camp at Blue Lake was last week, and as I sat in that chapel just taking in the beauty of so many kids worshipping the Father who created them, my eyes were opened. Opened to the fact that each person in that room has gone through something, and whether it was big or small, what they had gone through had shaped them into who they were. As I sat and watched high school seniors comfort upcoming 7th graders, I marveled at the fact that “coincidentally” we were all there at the exact moments we needed to be in order to grow from each others’ pasts.
- First of all, I don’t believe in coincidence. There is no way that by chance every single person out of the 173 that attended camp found someone to relate to, to confide in, and to be consoled by. There is no way that by chance children of the King who were lost and confused found their way back to the Father all at the same time. There is no way that by chance countless hearts were softened, broken, and put back together in a matter of days. There is just no way.
- Second of all, I’ve had a really crappy past month. Don’t get me wrong, there have been so many wonderful, beautiful, laughable, enjoyable moments, but if we’re being honest, the crappiness outweighed it all. Three weeks ago, a big change in my life occurred that I didn’t see coming, and as I sat in my room with a freshly broken heart, I wondered how it could ever get better…. but then it did. That experience, followed by a few beautiful days at Oakwood, revealed to me that I have so much more to offer than what I’ve given in the past. I was reminded that there is a deep, perfect, beautiful love that casts out ALL fear. There is a Creator in heaven who has hand-crafted me into the person I am today. He’s given me the opportunity to take the pain that I’ve experienced and to turn it into something more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. He opened me up and let words flow from my mouth that before would have never reached the surface. He softened my heart and let in people who I never would have embraced. He allowed me to see that there is potential in me far beyond what I ever could have reached for had I remained stagnant in the life I had grown to be so comfortable with. So that pain I felt, it’s been transformed into courage, boldness, acceptance, joy, and love. It’s been replaced with excitement for what’s to come, and appreciation for what has passed.
So what’s the point? By now, I’m kind of asking myself the same question. Although I’ve rattled on about me, myself, and I, I really do know where I’m going with this….
What I’m getting at here, is that there will be things in your life that will rock your world. They will flip it upside down, and you’ll be filled with confusion like you’ve never felt. {Sorry to break it to you, but if there was a way around it, I think someone might have figured it out by now.} But when those things happen, all I can tell you is to practice patience, and look forward to what may be lying only a few miles up the road. Your walk may be long, and the road may be tiresome, but when you reach the moment where the PLAN that is your life is finally taking shape, that weariness will be overcome with joy for pressing on toward that goal.
I don’t have any sort of special wisdom beyond anyone reading this page, I’ve just been paying attention to what the Father has been trying to tell me for far too long. And Wednesday night, as I sat with two, sweet girls from my youth group and two of my closest friends, I explained this very thing:
I don’t have any sort of special wisdom beyond anyone reading this page, I’ve just been paying attention to what the Father has been trying to tell me for far too long. And Wednesday night, as I sat with two, sweet girls from my youth group and two of my closest friends, I explained this very thing:
Sometimes when God lets bad things happen, they aren’t to punish you – in fact, they may not be about you at all. Honestly, in the moments of your suffering it’s going to be painful, and it may feel like your entire world has come crashing down. But with a little bit of patience and a whole lot of grace, there will come a time when the turmoil clears and a friend, or maybe even a stranger, can use the wisdom you gained, and in that moment, you’ll understand.
It just doesn’t make sense… until it does.
Samantha Reynolds 
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