the struggle.

Source: flickr.com via Kate on Pinterest

this week has been a rough one for me. i've learned about a number of ridiculously tough situations amongst my friends - some who live close, and some who are in different places across the country. situations that have made me ask, time and again, WHY?

why, Lord?
why?
why has life been lost?
why has life been lost before it has been fully lived?
and in some cases, why has life been lost before it has been lived at all?

i know that it is not my place to demand an answer to these questions from the creator of the universe. but still i ask. still i wonder.

i wish there were words to say that didn't sound trite and contrived.

at the end of the day the only choice i have - we have - is whether or not to continue trusting that God is God. and that he is in control. whether or not we find some clear reason on this side of heaven for any of these heart-wrenching happenings, will i still have faith that he is worthy of my trust, and worthy to be praised?

i am no JOB. in the midst of hardship i have sinned. i have blamed God. i have even shaken my tiny fist at him. i have not often gotten down on my knees to praise him in these situations, all the while saying "the Lord gives, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

sometimes life is hard. sometimes, frankly, it sucks.
sometimes the reasons to continue trusting are obvious.
but all too often they seem evasive.

sometimes the only reason i can think of to keep trusting is because God is capable.
he is the only one capable of redeeming this mess we've made of his creation.
he is capable of redemption.

in fact, we know how the story ends.
we have been redeemed.
the battle has already been won.

i don't know what you've been going through lately. i don't know if you're up on the mountaintop, or down in the valley. either way, i am confident that God will find a way to meet you where you are.

i also want to share this music video with you. this is one of my absolute favorite songs to come back to when things are tough. have a listen:

xo.

katie williams