So Easy

Have you ever been in a situation that appeared so impossible that you cannot even fathom what the other side might look like?  I have heard the sarcastic phrase a hundred times: "It's not like it's brain surgery."  As I stared brain surgery square in the face, that phrase took on an entirely different implication.  Although I never remember hearing any exciting stories of successful craniotomies, I am fully informed it happens everyday.  We gathered as a family, my mother, father, sister and ex-husband to strategize our course of action.  I would drive to Dallas one day early for pre-surgery activities.  Mom and dad would follow the next day, my sister would be there post-op, and my ex-husband would stay home with our son.  One, two, three......GO TEAM!!!!

As the time neared, my heart was confident, but my head (not just the broken part) was unsure.  A timely visit from some missionary friends sharpened my perspective.  Rachel and Leah (names have been changed) are from Iran.  They are sisters who came to the United States in the 70s to attend college and eternity found them along the way.  You see, in the Iranian cultured love is of no consequence, so imagine their joy when they learned of Jesus.  They fell completely and madly in love, and their only desire was to tell the world of this amazing love and of course, of this amazing grace.  Rachel and Leah were keenly aware that following Jesus might and would most likely cost them everything, including their life.  However, nothing else matter but spreading the gospel.  Their journey took them back to Iran for 16 years.  During that time, they experienced rejection and hatred from their family and dodged numerous death threats.  Conversely, they saw God's mighty power show up in the impossible moments.  Rachel and Leah carried hundreds of bibles through military check points for over 16 years without incident.  Rachel and Leah saw one of their hit-men come to Christ.  Before her death, Rachel and Leah witnessed their mother fall to her knees in worship to the one, true God. 

I was excited to see these friends about whom I had only heard.  I strongly admired their deep loyalty to the gospel, their complete death unto themselves, and their total abandonment of their hearts.  These 2 women quietly ate a small piece of fruit for dinner and later slept on the floor of my parent's guest bedroom.  They explained to my dad that they did not want to get too comfortable, not knowing where God would take them tomorrow.  Unsure if their would be food tomorrow or a place to sleep along their journey, my dad watched as Leah and Rachel disciplined themselves to always be prepared to act out of obedience.

As they sat in our living room, he implored them again with a sense of desperation, "Would you please pray for my Jenni?  She has this mass in her brain, and doctors must remove it.  They must cut open her brain and remove it.  It's a long surgery, and we can only hope that everything turns out good."  He pleaded again, "Would you please, please pray for my Jenni?"  Without missing a beat in her thick, thick Iranian accent, Rachel confidently declares, "Oh, that is so easy for God.  That is so easy, easy, easy for God.  That is so so easy for my God.....easy, easy, easy."  In spite of their circumstances, Rachel and Leah have yielded all authority to God and have seen his power and glory displayed undeniably.  Brain surgery appeared effortless in the eyes of their God, my God.

I know that we know that our God is the God who makes the impossible possible.  Personally, it's hard for me not to place my earthly limitations on a limitless God.  When I think of this story, I'm reminded that our God is the same God who effortlessly parted the Red Sea, who told Lazarus to rise, who turned water into wine, who with his very words spoke life into this world.....and it was so easy.

Out of the storm

I have often wondered if Job's story serves solely as an example for us that things could always be worse.  A very bad day in my world pales in comparison to Satan's testing of Job's commitment to and love for God.  I submit that a typical American's top 3 priorities look something like this:  1) Family 2) Career/Wealth 3) Health.  Within minutes, Job found himself without any of those things.  Now what?  What does life begin to look like after complete and utter ruin?  Although Job's story is a good example for us that things could always be worse, there is much more depth within this example.  How did Job face the greatest devastation and trial of his life?  When devastation ceaselessly stalked Job in pursuit to destroy, he a made a choice.  He chose not to sin.  He chose to accept not only the good from God but also trouble.  Merriam-Webster's definition of accept is to receive willingly, as to accept a gift.  Devastation = a gift?

At his darkest hour he refused to curse his Maker.  He refused to lose sight of God's everlasting love.  Job refused to see God as anything but the lover of his soul.  There have been times when darkness felt like a blanket covering my vapor of a life.  Loneliness, darkness, emptiness, brokenness overwhelmed me.  Lack of purpose and meaning haunted my every step.  I made a choice too.  I decided to be the Anti-Job.

Let's dig deeper still.  In the midst of my personal storm, I discovered the abyss of God's perfect love.  Many, many years earlier, Job found himself drowning in this abyss.  Job 38:1 says, "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm."  You see, the Lord was inside the storm with Job.  He was there with Job, experiencing the storm alongside Job.  God's love never changes even in the midst of our storms.  His faithfulness never fails.  His is with us always even (or should I say especially) within our storms?