What Makes Life Rich

These are the things that make life rich.

After receiving particularly hard news, I asked my pastor's wife if we could get together and talk, since my parents and best friend were out of town. I wasn't sure who else to talk to. 

She answered my long bemoaning with the above quote, and I could not be more thankful for these words.

I was, at first, shocked. I didn't understand and I didn't want to try to understand. I knew she couldn't simply be invalidating my pain but it didn't really seem like the sympathy or advice I was expecting.

Over time, though, and little by little, these words came to mean something. The truth has only grown in my mind with every hard thing: the Lord uses pain for good. He uses disappointment to turn us once more to him, and to test our faith in His goodness. 

So sometimes I just write down that sentence when I am feeling frustrated. These are the things that make life rich. 

But recently, I've again been confronted with the shocking nature of these words. God is blessing me with a hardship? 

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? [Matthew 7:9]

Somehow, I've come to know that I will eventually see each 'stone' in that situation as a loaf of bread- a feast even. 

The transition back from living abroad has taken a different form than I expected. For starters, I didn't expect to struggle much in the process of entering back into former friendships. I never thought I would struggle to get back into the 'rhythm' of U.S. university.  I didn't know I would struggle in integrating back into my family. 

Spain offered a wealth of free time for spontaneous hikes, blogging, trying knew cafes. Even the long walks to class or choir provided up to an hour of just me and my thoughts. 

A lot of freedom.

While I've struggled with giving that up, I also marvel at the grace of God to use it to grow my desire to be alone and quiet before Him.

Recently, I was talking to a friend who talked of the grace of God as His hand at work.  He was saying that he has seen God's hand at work so much in the past couple years. 

Thinking of different experiences of grace as the work He is doing by His own hand...

He loved to reflect on the fact that grace was never singular in its effects. - Home by Marilynne Robinson

I am just starting an internship with HOPE International, and I think I will start blogging more regularly again. 

I am eager to see how He will use this (as anything) to make life rich, and I see His hand at work already in little blessings. I'll share more of those soon!