Hi Pastor John,
I just felt like I wanted to write and say how I’ve been feeling lately. I’ve had a couple of discussions with different ones around the topic of the trials we each have, whether it be loneliness, or other family or marital problems. Sometimes we might look around and say, “that person has the perfect life,” but really, we just don’t know that. One thing a sister said is that something that one person may not find to be a trial is what another person may be struggle with, and it is the perfect thing for that person to be going through. So for me, loneliness is my perfect trial. And other than the times where things get very heavy, and my emotions flare up with Jesus and the body, I can do this. And I won’t die from it!
I have a plaque that I made and put in my patio garden. It says, “The grass is always greener on the side you water.” It’s too easy to look longingly on the other side of the hill, and forget that Jesus did not make mistakes, and your life is right for you. We each need to water our own lives, and trust Jesus that our lives are right for us.
But in all this, what I feel is such a sense a seriousness and soberness. I think sometimes we forget that having the perfect life is not what our walk in Jesus is about. His business is not being a “genie” to bring us what we want in this temporal world; His business is saving us for an eternal world. So, whether we are unmarried and lonely or otherwise feels so irrelevant to me right now. This life is a vapor in the wind, and we need to focus on what matters: accomplishing our purpose in this life and being saved in the end.
Jenny