Joni Eareckson’s recent book, A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain and God’s Sovereignty, makes this simple, elegant point: (My paraphrasing)
Perhaps why is a question best left alone, with its abundant
hair pin turns to nowhere. The better
question is how.
Not “Why did God’s cosmic plan include Joni Eareckson
breaking her neck and landing in a wheelchair for the past 40 years?” But how does she live a life of spiritual
power, strength and hope in the everyday of helplessness?
Not “Why was your first child born with Autism, unable to
communicate or care for himself for a lifetime?” But how do you live in a place of continued
hope for healing alongside acceptance of what is for now without becoming
bitter?
Not “Why doesn't my husband love me?”, but how do I keep
loving him, keep getting up in the morning, keep doing the next right thing and
in so doing bring glory to God and help to your fellow man?
Not “Why am I afflicted with a stubborn, impenetrable depression?”,
but how do I give and receive the love and grace of Christ when I am bone weary
and can’t lift my head off the pillow?
These are practical questions. Why leaves us solving one of those Rubik’s
cubes that hurt your head and neck after a while. How is like getting the flour out of the
cupboard to make the cupcakes. Then
getting the sugar. Then the butter. How is following the instructions of the
original baker to produce something good in the day. How is the living of life in the unanswerable, mysterious Valley of Why.
Fill in your own why.
It’s OK to ask. We all ask. Some folks even get an answer, or part of
one. But not most people. Most why’s are buried in the hidden sands of
God’s sovereign understanding. These are
the hard things to be thankful for.
These are the serious places of testing and trial that require
faith. To quote an old adage, these are
what separate the men from the boys.
The Joni Eareckson's of the world give me courage in the why’s
of my own life.
Today, I’m asking the Holy Spirit HOW? That's a question He'll always answer. Show me how to love my neighbor who’s so
terribly depressed after losing her husband, when what I really want to do is
put on the TV. Show me how to be kind to
the people I work with, when the pain from a compressed disk makes me feel
mean. Lay out my day and make clear how
I should prioritize the thousand tasks that call my name. Most of all, strengthen me in the how of
being grateful, even for the sufferings, the pain, and the ongoing uphill climb
of the deepest heartache of my life.
This verse made me happy like sunflowers this morning:
Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and
hill shall be made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight
and the rough places plain.” Isaiah 40:4 (KJV)
These mysteries of why will be sorted out for sure.
We’re pilgrims and strangers here for 5
minutes.
Pretty soon, there will be no
more whys.
The crooked back of my friend’s
daughter with CP will be made straight.
The rough, unjust places of a drunk driver run amok and creating a
lifetime of trouble will be made plain. Every
mountain and hill of sorrow and relational pain and broken bodies will be made
low.
For now, I’m not asking why.
I’m asking for insight and grace for you and me to do the how.
Go make some cupcakes.
Your friend on the pilgrim road,
Loriann
