The end of the story

So last week I had the interesting experience of watching 'Nanny 911' for the first time. I was puzzled by this show where a British nanny goes for a week into the home of a family who is having problems disciplining their children... it kept my undivided attention the whole time.

This one episode I watched a mom of three children, two boys and one girl, had no desire to discipline them. She stated on TV that rather than dealing with them she would rather ignore them or give them whatever they wanted. She seemed annoyed by anything they did, and her children felt it. I couldn't help but think what a blessing it is to have three healthy children. One of my deepest haunting question surfaced of 'Why is Andrew not here with us today?' We would have been crazy about him and showered him with lots and lots of love. I couldn't help but to wonder if life is simply unfair and God is very removed from this world. Perhaps I had just made Him up in my mind to find something to hold on to.

My sister called me last night because upset because she is trying to do all the 'right things' and everything seems to be falling apart. And she felt like most people around her are doing all the wrong things and everything seems to be going well for them. It didn't seem fair to her and she was sad.

I realized something during my Esther bible study last night... there are times in our lives when things don't make sense. When life seems simply unfair. I even remember a time in my career when I saw evil people succed by lying, taking credit for other people's work, gossiping, etc. And I saw the honest ones stay behind. Yes, sometimes I take a quick snapshot at life and assume it will be like that forever. And that quick snapshot gives me the wrong perception that life is unfair.

But life is not unfair. If I can let go of that quick snapshot of life, and look forward to the end of the story, I realize that God is still in the process of writing the story and is not finished yet! My joy comes from knowing that He will write the last chapter of my life and it will be an unbelievable one. I know that because it ends with spending eternity with Him and my son Andrew forever and ever! He has already given me a sneak peak at what He has planned.

I related a lot to Mordecai in the book of Esther, in the sense that he must have felt frustrated at times too. He was a man who loved the Lord immensely and saved King Xerxes from being assassinated. And how did the King reward him? Not even a thank you or recognition of any kind. Instead the king becomes best buddies with 'Haman' an evil man who was jealous of the king, lied to him, and was evil as it gets. I thought about how Mordecai must have felt life was unfair during that time of his life. And that time lasted for months if not even years. At that time of Mordecai's life he saw his evil enemy succeed... and he left unrecognized and forgotten.

But if I fast forward to the end of the book of Esther, it turns out Haman's evil scheme is revealed and he falls from the top. Haman dies at the end without his fortune and favor from the King. Mordecai on the other hand ends up with the recognition from the King and all the people of the town. Mordecai is elevated in rank, given favor, and even a huge parade is thrown for him! It is the most wonderful ending someone could possibly think of. I could feel the joy as I read the details of those last chapters! The joy of the Jewish people was overwhelming as they all had just been delivered from a large scale massacre. It was only God's handwriting who delivered them and who brought up Mordecai from being forgotten.

And so I am confident that God will write the end of my story as well. I don't know how the end of the story will look like for the family I watched on TV last week, but I hope there is a chapter of grace and redemption. God has freed me from my broken past and hurts and hang-ups... and He loves doing that to others!

Steve reminded me last night is that God also writes the beginning and middle of the book. As difficult as life might be at times, it is the these moments that shape us into who we are supposed to be. And without these temporary trials there would not be a happy ending.

That was eye opening for me. As much as my emotions tell me at times that God has temporarily forgotten about me, I remember that even though this season of my life feels pretty dark, His handwriting is there too. And there is a purpose and time for each chapter of His story.