All Things For Good

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28 NIV84

All things...

The week before Christmas, two weeks before the new year, and I'm pondering all that has happened in 2012 and wondering what 2013 will hold. Lots of hype about the craziness of the end of the world happening... and it makes me wonder how much longer.

Perspective is a premature baby in an incubator at UK, weighing just shy of 2 lbs. I've followed her progress on facebook. Tiny in pictures, I can only imagine how small she is in person. Her Mama posts daily, and I stalk her site for news. I may never meet Jaycee, but she has captured my heart.

Perspective is the 16 year old I follow on Facebook as well. States away from me, I've followed her journey through chemotherapy and exploratory surgery, as she shaved her head and is homeschooled and makes the most of her life. I know I'll never meet her, but again, I pray for her daily.

Perspective is all of those who have lost loved ones and jobs this close to the Christmas season. Money is tight, especially in these weeks ahead, as credit card notices come in. The necessities in life are just more and more expensive...

Perspective is a young soldier coming home to his wife. For much of their marriage, he's been deployed. Now, on home soil, they will share the holidays together.

Perspective is all that is wrong in the world... and all that is magically right. Daily, He is good. He is good in prayers, and through people, and in the magic of the human race, which triumphs in times of tragedy through small, insignificant acts of kindness. And though we may never realize, or we may not understand, He is working good in our lives. In our ordinary, run of the mill, mundane lives.

We heard the wonders after 9/11, people who lived because their alarm clock didn't go off or they missed the subway or they called in sick to work, and it's easy to see how he works for good in those ways. But even in the ugly, in the death and the sickness and the hardship, He's working for the good. In the marriage that seems like it is on the brink because of unfaithfulness, He's using that to turn them around. In the death of a young child to cancer, He's using it to bring others closer to Him. Stories we may never hear, He's using it for good.

I thought it was interesting that this was our verse this week, because He uses all things to work for the good so that we can be greater in Him, yet as a nation we are pausing, or have been pausing, to figure out just what could be good in times like this. I don't pretend to have those answers... but He does. And He is all good, no matter what. Even when we don't understand, His way is not our way. And I'm so glad for that, because my way would be a bungling mess.

Look up... our redemption draws nigh. And it's going to be so good... dare I say it? Greater than anything we can imagine.