Learning Strength Through Adversity

Wow! It's been ages since I have written anything. I did actually write a final
wrap up post of my Africa journey, but in one of those inexplicable iPad glitches, the entire thing disappeared into cyberspace before I could post it. Discouraged, I just couldn't find the energy to write it all again.

Since that time I have kept very much in touch with our African friends. In particular, thru the marvels of modern technology, I have been able to become good friends via Facebook with Pastor Walter one of our brethren from Kenya. Things have been bad these past few months in Kenya. With the drought, the refugee situation, and rampant inflation his little church has been taxed to the breaking point. Because we have been able to communicate so easily I have been able to keep up with things there. It became evident to me at some point that they needed some help. So, it seemed time to take the bull by the horns and get busy finding some help for his feeding center. Through the generosity of many from my church we were able to send emergency funds in both August and September. In the meantime I have been busy persuing other resources for this church. I believe that God is blessing these efforts though I struggle to wade thru some of the red tape currently.

Having good intentions and jumping in to help is an interesting exercise in patience and forebearance. What seems like a simple idea and a really great cause has ended up being way more complicated than I ever imagined. This can be discouraging at times, but I tell myself that like all new ventures, there are bound to be stumbling blocks along the way. This is normal,right? After all, what we know about God is that He loves to call the ill-equipped to do the next to impossible. So I keep stumbling along. Praying for guidance. Picking myself up after each fall. Pressing onward..

This seems to be a recurrent theme in my life at the moment. Not just with regard to helping my friends in Kenya but in other areas of my life as well. This chaos has been largely what has kept me so occupied and away from doing much of what I love to do. The last two months have been difficult ones. Sometimes things get thrown at us that we never see coming. Communication becomes difficult. Misunderstandings result. Relationships break down. Sometimes they are recoverable. Sometimes they are not. I have experienced some of each
recently.

It is sad and painful when we can't manage to work through our differences with a brother or sister. I think it is especially painful when this happens in a setting where we expect love, understanding, and forgiveness to triumph. In cases of conflict what is needed is enough fortitude to keep working on things until there is some kind of successful resolution. Sadly, what often happens instead is people become wounded. They throw in the towel. They prefer clinging to the absolute conviction of their "rightness" to achieving peaceful resolution of the problem. Being justified and right becomes more valued than the relationship and the people involved. The final insult is the blame game. People on the periphery choose sides. Let the name calling begin.......

I see this pattern occuring at so many levels around me. I see it happen within families. I have seen it happen within a small group setting that is important in my life. I see it happening in our nation as we approach another election cycle. It makes me wonder why we can't do better. Why we can't be better. Why we can't be more understanding of one and
other. It makes me wonder why we just don't give a damn so often about the feelings of other people.

These are questions I have no answers to. What I have learned, however, is that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger in the end. It is often our missteps and failures that become our greatest teachers. Strength thru adversity. It's not an easy way to grow in grace. But I do believe that it is one of the ways God shapes us as His people. Shalom!