Believing even in the Bad

On March 8, a Tuesday, I dropped Sean off at the airport for his very first business trip. Later that day, James developed a fever. Below is my week in photos. 

Day 2

Day 3

Day 6

Day 8

While this was a week of little sleep, two double ear infections, one bout of bronchiolitis, and a grown-up with a cold, it was not the worst that we've endured nor will it be for the future. Atlas was on breathing treatments and put on steroids after his breathing became strained the day before we were scheduled to go on a family vacation.

We weathered this storm and we will weather many more, but it's not by any thing that I did. I am thankful for prudent and kind pediatricians. I am thankful for a patient husband. But above all else; I am thankful for a God who loves.

Many people have gone through and are going through situations that warrant a lot more strength than the week we experienced. Families in Brussels who have lost loved ones in this terrorist attack. Patients who have just been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney failure. Parents who have miscarried for the third time. Children who have been in foster care for years without someone to truly call 'mom' or 'dad'. Women who have been raped, sold, and beaten all to meet the needs of someone else. Men that have lost limbs in the line of duty. These are just a few situations that are considerably "bad."

But God is good. I know this because of the promises He gave on the cross almost two thousand years ago. "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you," 1 Peter 5:10. While some may have suffered a long while, the God of all grace still promises the same thing. God is good.

I have witnessed and experienced some restoration in my own life. While I may not have been through struggles and heartache the same as someone else may have my pain is not lesser. My journey is not more incredible nor is it less. Your sufferings are not less than because God can restore anything. God does not pick and choose who to help, which prayers to answer, or what evil to destroy. Rather, God answers prayers in a timing unlike our own. God helps everyone but also gives each and every one of us the choice to choose Him. God does not destroy all evil because that would result in the immediate destruction of you and I. Just read 1 Peter 3.

God is not good only sometimes. God is good every single day. God has given me the strength to weather storms I would have previously chosen to run from. God has given the resources to doctors to make medicines, create cures, diagnose, and treat. God wants everyone to run to Him.

Your marriage may be failing, your children may be ill, your body may be weak, your bank account may be empty but your God is always good. Persevere. Push closer to God and He will show you grace. You will see restoration in your marriage. While your child may not heal immediately or ever you will find comfort. There is no prosperity gospel, giving will not make you rich but God will put people into your life that can help you build a better budget and help you steward your money wiser. God may not be good in the immediate way you or I see goodness. But God is patient, God is kind, God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not proud. God does not dishonor others, God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered, God keeps no records of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.