Questions

Do you ever have times in your lives that you have more questions than answers? That you feel that whatever intelligence you have is just not enough? That whatever strength you have is not strong enough for the tasks at hand? That your wisdom is so lacking in the areas bombarding you and the relationships that are wilting before your eyes that you cry constantly on the inside? Oh, you have faith...but it seems at times so rote and such a routine that you begin to wonder if even that is really there?

Do you ever cry while watching all the disasters that are happening EVERYWHERE and feel that your prayers are like whispers in the gale winds? Do you ever look at loved ones that are aging and wonder what happened to the time or how you will survive watching them slow and gradually stop being the persons you always had known? Have you ever considered the stresses the young ones endure that were not even thought of when you were their age? Do you ever just wish that God would put you in "time out" just so you could catch your breath for awhile?

Have you ever felt sadness that was so deep for another persons pain and wonder if our creator feels that way about us? Have you ever felt a happiness so encompassing that you thought you would explode into song or laughter? Have you ever held a newborn and were amazed at their freshness and total dependence? Have you ever thought about the idea of a God that promised us that freshness every single day of our lives? And that your total dependence on Him is a complement to his Godhood?

Have you ever thought about a God that would take on all the questions you have and never condemn or make light of them? Have you ever considered that Jesus endured all the questions posed to Him and that He possibly wondered at the wisdom God allowed him to have at just the right time? Or that He ever wondered if He had the strength to complete the tasks He had to finish? Was His "It is finished" a scream of total abandonment, or a whisper of total faith? Do you ever think about what He was willing to do because you were born the way you were born? That you really are no surprise to Him at all? That your faith can be smaller than a grain of sand and continue to sustain you through anything the world throws your way?

Do you ever consider wrinkles as beauty marks? Or a child as an opportunity to stay young at heart? Or that the life tapestry of God is not finished yet, but is being constantly worked on so that one day it will be finished? That one day we will get our 'time out', when the trumpet announces the revealing of Jesus, face to face, and more wonder-filled than we can ever imagine? That the young and old of our lives will become like Him and never, ever have to endure again all the pain and doubt that Satan has thrown in their faces? That relationships will be mended and bodies healed? And that until that time comes, we have the promise of our creator that we are totally and completely loved with all the scars and faults and weakness? And that He uses everyone of those scars, faults, and weaknesses to shine His glory on a world that is aching for a 'time out'?

Do you ever look at a sunset and have it take your breath away because it is so beautiful? Hmmm, wonder if it is God letting us know it is alright?