The Long View
Finding Hope in Painful Places
Highschool Heartache
At thirteen, puberty exploded upon me with full force. Turbo-charged hormones surged into my melancholy temperament. Further intensifying my overload, we moved for my dad’s job after I finished junior high. I entered high school as a bottom rung ninth grader, knowing no one. Tall for my age and awkward in glasses and braces, I swear I cried almost every day.
I remember my mother’s frustration as I poured out my daily angst. Flooding our couch cushions with tears, I sobbed to her about wanting friends. I moaned about the cute boys who ignored me. I fumed about missing out on the most popular club. On and on I ranted—slapping aside all her rational guidance and comfort. Exasperated, Mom tossed out her final advice: “Don’t take it so hard, high school is just a blip in your entire life.” With teenage sass I snapped back, “But it’s the only life I have NOW!”
We were both right. But my mom was wiser. Often, the long view perspective of life’s anxieties and disappointments reveal them as stumbling stones and stinging raindrops along our path. But at the time, they hit us like mountains and hurricanes.
“Our souls ache with questions too big to answer in any way that justifies the pain inflicted upon us.”
Grown-up Heartache
Of course, missing prom and feeling snubbed by a boy hardly compare to the sharper pains that smack us down as life progresses. Deep, soul-wrenching losses and grief may seem to eclipse the sun itself, blocking our view of anything else. In those times, we doubt we will ever climb out of the bottomless valley to a place of warmth and sunlight again. Our souls ache with questions too big to answer in any way that justifies the pain inflicted upon us. The overwhelming experience of today sucks away all hope for the future.
But as my mom tried to point out to me, do the emotions drowning us today reflect the whole truth of our situation? Will the conclusion of our story really show more pain than gain? If we can somehow lift our heads for a glimpse of the long view, we might grab onto the hope that glimmers faintly on the horizon. Yet for hope more solid than a mirage across the desert, we must find confirmation in truth. We need assurance that the oasis in the distance appears on a map we can trust—or at least one we feel we can bet on. The pain of today demands it.
Crossroad Choice
Only one Person has the entire map of time and life within His view. He created both, and he writes the conclusion of the Story. Even more, he offers to walk with us through every step to the happy ending he promises in the epilogue. (Yes, happy.) On our way, we face a crossroad before us: Will we travel with him or without him? And if we travel with him, will we trust what he tells us about the journey?
God’s View
In God’s letter to humanity, he chronicles both the history behind us and maps the destination ahead. He remembers the men and women who weep and hurt, giving dignity to their pain by tenderly weaving their stories into his Story. His words of truth and comfort surround them— and us. His reassurance asks that we trust his heart and promises:
I will never leave you or abandon you.
“For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will never leave you or abandon you.” (Deuteronomy. 31:6b)
I am able to give you everything you need when you lean on me.
"And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians. 4:19)
I can provide peace and calm within every storm that hits you.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” (John 14:27)
I can take all the broken pieces of your journey and make them into something beautiful.
“I will turn their mourning into joy, give them consolation, and bring happiness out of grief.” (Jeremiah. 31:13)
I can pick you up and heal your wounds when you stumble and fall.
“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
You can rest in my arms when the pain overwhelms you.
“He will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.” (Psalm 91:4)
The darkness around you will never conquer the light that I carry for you.
“The light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
I’ll make sure you find your way home to me.
“If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)
Each one of your tears matters to me.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
The journey through this world is hard, but my plan for you extends beyond this world.
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
The end of my Story, and for all of your stories, will be more glorious than you can ever imagine.
“But as it is written, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—God has prepared these things for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
The Rear View
As expected, my high school days passed into memory with the typical highs and lows. I didn’t go to prom, but I went to football games with friends. The popular club rejected me, but I made honor roll, played powder puff football, and performed with the dance team. I didn’t have a boyfriend, but I went on my first movie date.
Decades later, high school does feel like a blip, even though painful at times. And as adulthood came, so did tougher blows with deeper damage, both in my own life and those I cared about. I’ve weathered broken hearts, too many funerals, extended illness, the shock of suicide, financial uncertainty, loss of faith, unexpected depression, nagging anxiety, and choking fear. With anger and disappointment, I’ve stomped up to that crossroad of choice—deciding God or no God.
The Narrow Path
On my daily trek, I also listen as friends describe their desperate and bottomless situations. My heart aches as we wonder together how God will bring good out of the tragedies and trials they suffer. Some have miles to go before reaching any oasis. What will sustain them? How will they find strength to pace out the steps that go on and on beyond sight?
“Each time, we must decide whether to trust God’s character for what we do not understand...”
As we press forward and reach the place of exhaustion, hopelessness, or the blackhole of grief, we arrive at the crossroad again: with God or without God? Each time, we must decide whether to trust God’s character for what we do not understand and cannot see ahead. We must choose whether or not to rely on the map he has given us and the destination he has promised.
As we collapse in our tracks under the burdens we carry, we close our eyes and remember the long view. We lean on the words of the One who walks with us. We take a deep breath, look toward the horizon, and begin again down the narrow path of faith.
What is your choice at the crossroad of faith?
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