One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
-Mary Stevenson, 1936
Lately I've been going through a few internal struggles. I feel the devil pulling at me from many directions and the ironic thing is that I've been attending church more regularly now than I have in the past year. Nonetheless, I've recently dealt with an issue with my roommate, I am struggling for success in my career, and also dealing with the big question of whether or not to move across the country with my military boyfriend next year. It could be a lot worse, yes, but right now my big struggles are all emotional. They are things that cause me stress, things that take a lot of thought before making decisions on, things that are just struggles. They say nothing worth having comes easy and nothing worth doing is easy. Why is that? Do we ever receive anything that is worth having but we didn't have to personally work to receive? Do we unconsciously work even to receive gifts?
Another topic on my mind is a book I received in a welcome kit at a church I visited today with my friend Eber and her brother Fritz and sister in law Lauren. It is a small book that I am nearly finished with and it discusses all the doubts and arguments a new Christian would have against believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God. It talks about how just because something is unfair, does not necessarily mean that it is untrue. In fact, truth and justice have nothing to do with one another. An arguement many non-believers have is that all good people should go to heaven. They find the teachings of Christianity (specifically that Jesus is the only way to the Father in heaven), hard to accept because it seems unfair. However, just because it is unfair does not mean that it is untrue. Here is an excerpt:
"To dismiss Christianity because it is unfair is to assume that something must be fair to be true... But once you decide that people live forever somewhere, you are staking your eternity on what you choose to believe is true. So it is entirely appropriate to discuss religion in terms of what is and is not true. Let's Face it, something can be absolutely unfair and true at the same time. We don't determine what is true based on whether or not is it fair. While it is true that little Susie received a C, it was certainly not fair. And while the umpire's call may have been unfair, it sure enough happened."
-Andy Stanley, Since Nobody's Perfect... How Good is Good Enough?
This part of the book really stood out to me. My boyfriend is a very logical thinker. He believes in God but sometimes struggles with the fairness idea. The idea that many people struggle with. Why don't all good people go to heaven? The answer is simple. God never claims to be a fair and just God but Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This may not be fair, but it is true. I wouldn't dare claim that Jesus is a liar, so it must be the truth. I highly recommend this short read to anyone who can get their hands on this little book. It is a great read for those who are questioning God's existence, those who are devout Christians, and anyone in between, especially you logical thinkers out there, because the author explains everything very logically in an easy to follow way.
xoxo
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