Deepening

Laura and I appreciate your prayers.

We are doing much better, though there are difficult moments. For instance, yesterday in the car the baby came up in conversation and we explained to the kids how the baby was healed and whole in the presence of Christ. Then the yellow-haired child said, with the innocence and sweetness that only a three year old can manage, that she wished that Jesus would just give us back the baby.

But we're managing. God through Christ heals all that is broken and redeems all that is lost. We have no doubts about that.

We do not go through the minor and major tragedies of our lives wondering about God's providence or His sovereignty. It is assumed. We do not ask Why? because we do not live our lives expecting paradise in a broken world. We are marked for some suffering. We do not, however, live our lives in fear of this suffering because we are known by God and we live in community. We are broken icons, and suffering will come, and will come necessarily because of our brokenness and for our healing.

Christ suffered. We find peace in the knowledge that He understands, that He knows. And we find peace in our participation in His suffering and His redemption. We better understand our stories of suffering in light of Jesus' story (the Passion in particular), and, in the midst of that contextualization, we begin to find meaning.

But suffering is still suffering. So we thank you for coming alongside us and quietly and simply offering us love, prayers, and presence, real or spiritual.