Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
As usual, I’m writing this the day before you read it, and Thursday is my “Thankfulness Day.” I wrote in my list of things for which I’m thankful that I should be thankful for my cold just as Corrie TenBoom learned to be thankful for the lice and fleas in her barracks in a concentration camp. Corrie had her sister, Betsy, who was able to point out the reason. I’m having to take it on faith that there is a blessing in it. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any. It might be something as “insignificant” as building immunity against something worse or building perseverance. It’s not that big of an issue- but I could make it so.
Isn’t that what we do so often? First, we say we don’t understand. If we only understood, that would help us cope. If God had a good (enough) reason, it might help – or might not. What we’re really aiming toward is our understanding and approval. We aren’t really happy with “Because I have chosen it” as a good reason.
As I told one friend, my having a cold may have changed my plans, but instead of going to choir and donating platelets, I weeded around a unit in the park. In fact, I thought that the reason might have been to get me to weed because tomorrow’s weather won’t be conducive to weeding, but that doesn’t happen to be the case. The mystery continues and may never be solved beyond “Because I have chosen it.” The question is – will we accept that it’s still a good and perfect gift?
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