troubles

We cannot avoid dangers and troubles….

thehutch, , , ,

“If the highest aim of a captain was to preserve his ship,

he would leave it at port, forever.”    Aquinas

Too often, we seek for safety and security at the expense of living life to the full. We want the great celebratory moments without the stepping stones of effort, pain and hurt that get us to this point. We should not avoid danger, we should not discount how the difficulties of life mould and shape us and we should never forget that the smallest of things can have the profoundest of impacts in life.

If we were to bleach, clean and remove all dirt and germs from our children toys, they would never develop a healthy immune system. In fact, they would be more at risk of the things that we fear, not less.  In life, do not fear the difficulties and problems, instead learn from them, grow from them and flourish in the new found skills and attitudes that will result.

Your job is not to stay safe on the shoreline but rather to explore the new horizons and the new worlds that are over the sea. Happy sailing!

 

Life sucks sometimes….but all will be well

thehutch, , , , ,

Sometimes life sucks, not just a few bad moments but times when numerous bad moments come at once….and keep coming and keep coming, and hope that you have clung to for so long gets dashed again and again. In times like that we Christians can quote all the verses from Scripture, we can give all the life experience stories, share lovely platitudes and share from the ‘giants of faith’ but when life is really low, these things don’t always work. Sometimes you just want the person you are talking to to accept that life sucks and be present with you because meaningless hope is not hope at all and crushes you further. Christians can be a barrier to Jesus.
Thankfully, it is not faith in other believers but faith in Christ that matters. He walks with is, He embraces us and He holds us in the tears and whispers gently, “I will give you rest”. That’s the Saviour that I know and that is why I do not walk away from faith in Christ. I trust Him even in the midst of the storms but sometimes that faith is stretched….thankfully He still holds me and says, “be still, for I am with you.”