Norah... happy, healthy and tons more fun for everyone!
When will it End?
The other night I looked at the clock right before I finally dozed off… it was 11:27. Then I heard it… one of the kids was throwing up... then came the crying. I opened my eyes again and the clock was the first thing I saw. It was 11:30, I had been asleep for three minutes and this was going to be an awesome night…
Norah was sick with some sort of stomach virus. She spent most of that night pale and shaking with a wild look in her eyes in between bouts of getting sick and crying. I think we went through enough sheets, towels and outfits to make more than two loads of laundry. It was one of those nights as a parent where you are dead tired and your body is begging for sleep, but your mind is spinning because you’re constantly second guessing every move you make to better this situation that has your heart crushed for your confused little hurting baby who has no idea what’s going on and is looking at you with those big blue eyes as if to say, “Do something!”
In the middle of the stomach flu, there is only one question going through my mind: When is this going to end? In the thick of it, you don’t think that you’ll ever feel normal again… it’s hard to remember a time when you weren’t surrounded by sickness and it’s impossible to imagine a time when it won’t be this way. I think life can get that way at times… When you’re neck deep in problems, hurts, frustrations and stresses it’s easy to feel that nothing will ever change. When will it end? Is there a finish line to all of these temptations, struggles and pains?
The great news is that if you know Jesus, there is a finish line! There is coming a day when we will all rest from our labors. There is coming a day of joy and victory where all problems and pains will be swallowed by infinite praise, gladness and laughter. My friend Christi used to always say that no matter how bad it gets, “We’ll be in heaven someday!” That is our hope and trust… that one day both the sad and hard will be swallowed up whole by love… but when? How much more of this will we have to take before that day happens? In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
The other night I looked at the clock right before I finally dozed off… it was 11:27. Then I heard it… one of the kids was throwing up... then came the crying. I opened my eyes again and the clock was the first thing I saw. It was 11:30, I had been asleep for three minutes and this was going to be an awesome night…
Norah was sick with some sort of stomach virus. She spent most of that night pale and shaking with a wild look in her eyes in between bouts of getting sick and crying. I think we went through enough sheets, towels and outfits to make more than two loads of laundry. It was one of those nights as a parent where you are dead tired and your body is begging for sleep, but your mind is spinning because you’re constantly second guessing every move you make to better this situation that has your heart crushed for your confused little hurting baby who has no idea what’s going on and is looking at you with those big blue eyes as if to say, “Do something!”
In the middle of the stomach flu, there is only one question going through my mind: When is this going to end? In the thick of it, you don’t think that you’ll ever feel normal again… it’s hard to remember a time when you weren’t surrounded by sickness and it’s impossible to imagine a time when it won’t be this way. I think life can get that way at times… When you’re neck deep in problems, hurts, frustrations and stresses it’s easy to feel that nothing will ever change. When will it end? Is there a finish line to all of these temptations, struggles and pains?
The great news is that if you know Jesus, there is a finish line! There is coming a day when we will all rest from our labors. There is coming a day of joy and victory where all problems and pains will be swallowed by infinite praise, gladness and laughter. My friend Christi used to always say that no matter how bad it gets, “We’ll be in heaven someday!” That is our hope and trust… that one day both the sad and hard will be swallowed up whole by love… but when? How much more of this will we have to take before that day happens? In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
No one knows… except the Father! Isn’t it great to know that someone knows… that He knows? Isn’t it a comforting thought to know that although we have no idea when the end is coming, our Father does? He knows the exact day and hour when all our worries, struggles, pains and problems will come crashing down with the glorious sight of the Son of Man… we don’t know when, but at least He does! He knows exactly why He has you in every hard situation you’re in… why He has surrounded you with the people you find yourself with… He knows exactly how long this will all last and He knows exactly when to step on stage. So we can trust Him, we can keep going and we can make it… because we will make it… right up to that moment, the day and the hour only He knows.
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