I have eczema on the tip of my fingers. Its actually spreading to under my nails so typing and other usually mundane tasks hurt. My husband is deployed. My mom is in the hospital and her pain and frustration can be felt by all of us. The stock market crashed over 600 points. The economy is in the tanker. And over 30 servicemen were killed in one trick of the Taliban.
My eczema doesn’t seem so bad now.
My mom has been in a hospital for over a week in so much pain that she sometimes can’t even talk with me. The small joys of a meal eaten or a walk taken disappear when the next day brings more pain and no appetite. The wonder of where the quick healing of her body has gone floods her mind.
We get a paycheck.
There are so many who don’t get a paycheck and don’t know where their next meal will come. Some of the elderly have just seen their savings and stocks disappear in one day and there is nothing they can do about it. The control we thought we had over our investments and future disappears with the quarrels and bickering by people we have never met in congress.
My husband is coming home.
I read about a wife of a seal who collapsed when she only saw the uniformed legs of a man coming to her door. I read about the family of another hero taken who couldn’t even give a comment to the press as their pain was so deep. These men gave the ultimate sacrifice for us and our country while our enemies rejoice.
All of my life circles have seem to affected these past weeks, from personal to family to country. There is pain on all levels and each level cries for hope. There is comfort in knowing that each level has a reason and is not just cold random circumstances with no purpose. Although each level has its own degree of pain, isn’t it amazing that the cure is the same for each one? Each circled pain has hope in the gospel. There is pain in the world of all kinds because of the curse of sin. This sin ultimately leads to death. But the Father in His love sent His Son to come and live a perfect and humble life on earth to be able to empathize with our pain. He felt the loss of his earthly father, he felt the pain of seeing loved ones get sick, he lived as a homeless man for three years relying on the compassion of strangers for food and shelter. He even gave his life for the freedom of others. But then, he rose again DEFEATING death and giving hope of a future with no curse of sickness and death! Believers will have the riches of heaven, no sadness, and no pain. That will disappear when we see the face of our savior in heaven! The beauty is, I can live in that hope today! I can remember that my eczema will not last forever. I can know that my mom’s pain will go away and that the Lord loves and cares for her more than I ever could. I can know that death only brings everlasting life for those who trust in Christ and they are now with their Savior forever!
Amazing, isn’t it? This gospel reaches across all pains and all walks of life. There is hope for each circle of my life. Praise the Lord my pain is not in vain.