Life Blows

Life blows sometimes. Yes, I'm a Christian and I just said "Life BLOWS sometimes" with all caps. Don't be offended; it's in the Bible. You don't believe me? Ask anyone who did enough to have their name in the book.

It all started on page one. Ask Adam and Eve. They'll tell you life blows sometimes. Our dumb decisions come with consequences. Their amusement in a smooth talking animal (still blows my mind that they didn't think it strange that the serpent spoke...did all animals talk in the beginning?) ultimately lead to a life that blew at times.

Ask Abraham. He'll tell you life blows sometimes. He had the charge to kill his son. The dude passed his wife off as his sister on more than one occasion for fear of his own life. He doesn't even seem to care about his wife. That's messed up.

Ask Moses. Eighty years in the desert. Life blows in the desert. There's no water, no food, and you know what else? When you wear a robe sand gets everywhere...I mean everywhere. The brother is still probably getting sand out of his draws.

Ask David. David lived a good portion of his life as a fugitive. If Harrison Ford has taught me anything, its that life as a fugitive is blows. (Actually, Harrison Ford has taught me lots of things thanks to Indiana Jones, CIA Operative Jack Ryan, and many other adventures.) David literally acted insane and worked for the enemy to survive. His highlight as a fugitive came when he refused to assassinate King Saul while the king was pooping in a cave. Talk about life stinking.

Go ahead ask Jesus. Betrayed by a close friend. Beat, stripped naked, spit on, and hung on a cross to die; oh that sounds like a great day. Jesus would tell you life blows sometimes.

Everyone in the Bible who is anyone would tell you that life blows sometimes.

My life lately...well, it blows. If you haven't noticed my posts have been few over the past couple of weeks. I wish I could say it's because I have been doing awesome things like sky diving, going to Taylor Swift concerts, shoe shopping, or a mission trip to Uganda, but I can't. Since January 5th, my life has been an onslaught of one bad thing after another.

An extremely close family member has been diagnosed with a sickness. This has come as a major blow to me and my family. The sickness has caused separation. Separation from someone you love is the worst thing. It's hard to see someone you love go through pain and uncertainty; it's even worse when you can't be there to help. It blows.

This caused me to go into depression for about a week. I've never been depressed in my entire life. Can I just say that depression sucks? I spoke with my doctor and she said that it was normal for what my family was experiencing. If you struggle with depression, I pray for you. You hear those antidepressant commercials and you think that the side effects sound worse than the actual depression. Let me tell you, another week of depression and I would have gladly taken being constipated while having diarrhea or having to wear a sweat band to soak up the sweat while guzzling a Fiji for my dry mouth. Decreased sex drive? Who cares about sex when you feel like that? It was so bad that for the first time ever, I knew that I couldn't preach, so I passed off my responsibility to someone else.

Last week, for the entire week, all three of my girls were sick. It started with a stomach bug from my oldest daughter.  Let me just say that it started the day that we had eaten enchiladas for lunch; it was seriously the worst thing I've ever cleaned up. The stomach bug left and in came bronchitis for Ellie, which meant no sleep for her or anyone else in the house. Then, on our way home from the doctor with my oldest, my youngest daughter started in with the stomach bug. Then, within an hour later, Lacey was punished with strep and the stomach bug at the same time (I say punished because this didn't seem like just a run of bad luck, someone has to be out to get us).

Then this last weekend I found my beloved dog a new home and my youngest daughter started preschool.

You can only imagine the emotional train wreck my family has experienced. Life blows sometimes. James tells me that when life blows that I'm to be joyful. He says that the trials will make me perfect. One of my best friends told me that God was refining me. Taking me to the next level of my ministry. If that's the case, refining sucks.

The prophet Zechariah speaks volumes into my life right now. God spoke these words through him...

"And I will put this third into the fire,

and refine them as one refines silvers,

and test them as gold is tested.

They will call upon my name,

and I will answer them.

I will say, 'They are my people';

and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'"

Life blows right now. I say blows instead of sucks, because like the wind, this season will pass. I don't know what God is refining me for or why and I never asked for it. But I know one thing: The Lord is my God.

Christian, your life is going to blow sometimes.

It's okay to say it. God won't get angry and strike you down with lightning. That doesn't mean we blame God. In fact, you should realize that it is in those moments that God does his best work. Don't plaster a smile on your face, fight back the tears, and say, "Everything is fine." When your life sucks, you can admit it. Admit it to people you are close to and they will be more than glad to help. I wouldn't have been able to make it this month without people in my circle. People have been praying and I have literally felt it at times. People have given us medical advice. Friends have cooked or taken us out to eat. My student workers at church took over one night for me. My parents came and watched our girls. If your life sucks, turn to the Lord your God and then turn to people you are close to. I promise God hasn't forgotten that you are one of his people.

What do you do when life blows?