Yesterday I was overwhelmed with an un-expected blessing and it brought me yet again to tears. I say, "yet again" because I'm often brought to tears! But it's cool, I've accepted that I'm emotional and it is what it is. I don't cry over just anything though, unless you count the ridiculous spectacle I put on when we found the bunnies a new home after a mere two months of having them...but that's another post for a different day. A boring day.
I cry over things that move me. Or over things that sadden me. Or over things that overwhelm me to the point of no words. Or over things that remind me of God's goodness indeed being all the time.
So yesterday. I was blessed. And as I was thinking about God's goodness I found myself saying it aloud to Lily. "Lily, God is so good to us." Lily responded to me in typical five year old fashion something to the effect of, "Of course He is mom. I've always known that. Ever since I was a baby!"
She has always known that. She has always known that. Lily can honestly coin the phrase, "God is good all the time," and mean it with every fiber of her cute little five year old being. If only we could keep that same assurance, the same faith that causes us to say, "I've always known that."
Lily has not yet had to go through any difficulty; she has not endured any storms in life that have caused her to wonder if God is ever going to calm the winds and the waves around her. She has not yet found herself in a hopeless situation that, barring a miracle of divine intervention, would remain hopeless. Lily has not yet waged war in this battle that we like to simply call "life." So of course she says, 'yes mom, of course God is good. Of course.'
But wait. While Lily may have just turned five years old, she still has faced things in life that by her standards are difficult. She still has daily fights with her sister, whom she looks up to and adores. She still has to be left at Pre-K, alone, unsure of what the day will hold for her. She goes through best friend drama again, like I go through hairspray. She has a fashion crisis on an hourly basis. Every.single.day.and.night. I mean, c'mon, it's a hard life!
But it's perspective. Those things are difficult for Lily, to which she has previously replied, "this is the worst day ever!" While the magnitude of the difficulty between her life and our lives obviously may differ, the root frustration is still there.
Psalm 52:1 says, "the goodness of God endures continually." There's our catch phrase. But really, meditate on that for a minute. His goodness endures continually. The word "continually" is defined as: "continuing indefinitely in time without interruption." So never, ever, ever, EVER can God's goodness towards us have an interruption. And forgive me for anyone that now has Taylor Swifts song stuck in their head. She's never getting back together. Ever. We get it.
That means that God's goodness continues through every season and every stage of life we face. All the way from little Lily upset that she does not have the same high heels as Samantha does to looking my estranged father in the face and sharing forgiveness with him as he lay dying.
In the dark times. In the confusing times. In the painful times. In the dry times. In the lonely times. God's goodness continues. In the joyful times. In the abundant times. In the exciting times. God's goodness continues.
We can't know this side of Heaven what God is protecting us from. Often times, as we walk through difficulty, it's easy to think that God's goodness has obviously paused for a season. But what if, just what if, that difficulty actually is protecting you from something far worse? What if. Just what if.
So today, I'm choosing to have the attitude that Lily had yesterday, because trust me friends, her attitude changes on a daily, ahem, hourly basis. As does mine. But today, I'm saying the over-used phrase with as much gusto as I can muster up! Yep, God is good, all the time friends. Of course He is. I've always known that.
No comments:
Post a Comment