We’ve seen the pictures—the aftermath of war, violence, storms, calamities, and disease. Wrecked neighborhoods, destroyed and fractured lives. But for the Grace of God, we often say to ourselves that it could be a story about ourselves. A war machine, the whims of where an earth-shattering storm will strike, or who gets the disease versus who doesn’t.
And the people affected? Hopeless looking, full of despair. They’ve lost it all.
It struck me this morning as the images of my morning routine strolled across the screen. Is Parkinson’s a result of a virus, or how do you protect yourself better? Sitting by itself, a bombed-out car in front of a business destroyed by a bully’s war machine? Life’s struggles put a family on the streets. Homeless. Destitute. Lost jobs. FInances broken.
Can we not live better in these modern times?
Then this strange thought wanders through my mind.
When I take my temperature, and it’s rising,
does that mean the whole body is that degree or only where I usually test it?
Tragedy Is Our Norm
Creation may have been ordered, but it resulted from violent changes. If deep space is an example, violence is constantly occurring across the miles and through the years.
Our bodies age, but diseases and the results of life change our existence. We take a break, add pounds, then try to get back into control by starving and exercising the fat away.
I drove by a field the other day that is being transformed into another warehouse district. Destruction! Pull down paradise, but up a parking lot.
Building materials come from the natural world that has undergone drastic changes to be formed in a production piece. Remember, not every tree is destined to become a board – some make it into that piece of newsprint or cardboard box you hold in your hands.
Though C-19 may have only taken 1% of the world’s population, how many were chosen to be aborted during the same season? Is one worse than the other? How many additional deaths occurred naturally or were taken by force or accident?
At the end of every contestable event, there are winners and losers.
Living With Change
Not all destruction produces tragedies.
A friend bought a new place to live,
Ten acres, give or take.
Oh, but the path of a nearby river,
Skookumchuck by name,
And the dam that holds it back,
Producing a Water Source for a nearby
Steam Power Generation Plant,
May someday create a new landscape.
It’s happened before
It will happen again.
That’s life.
We generally like forward motion. That’s a New and Improved life and living! Right? Maybe. Generations down the road will show a better path forward, and the old will be tossed aside with disdain.
Maybe our biggest change is yet to come. M.A.D., or as some call it, mutually assured destruction. We create conditions where the end of our lives may come from our choice to ensure no one survives.
That’s a change anyone can accept, right?
Ten Words
“If it is to be, it is up to me.” IIITBIIUTM is another way of describing it. Whatever change for the best must begin within me.
It’s not an overnight change unless it’s a God thing. Healing takes time, just as change requires effort.
Could it be this is what the thief on the cross experienced? The end of his violent life resulted in a violent death. What can you change now? If it is to be, it is up to me.
Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
(Luke 23:42 NKJV)
At the end of every trial, whether by others or even a self-starter, will we find a moment of pause? Think it through. Is there a better way? Is it too late to change? How can we make amends?
IIITBIIUTM.
Overcome the hurdle of self, and make a change that will welcome a new beginning. Don’t make the trip alone. Take someone with you. IIITBIIUTM.
Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
(Psalms 119:49-50 NKJV)