A Little While
During Catie’s five-year rollercoaster ride, we experienced intense times of fear and dread along with seasons of hope and peace. We cried and we laughed. Every blood test, spinal tap, or doctor’s visit was a turning point. We would return home in pain or with a reprieve for a few weeks of normalcy.
Week after week, month after month, the uncertainty and apprehension continued. Life moved in micro-moments. We were trapped in the now, and the now seemed like an eternity. Catie’s pain ended on October 31, 1990. Ours continued.
Seasons of peace and hope returned. Days of new normalcy arrived. Hurt ebbed and flowed, but with greater assurance that pain would be a visitor, not a roommate.
Peter tells us that our suffering will only last a little while. He goes on to say, “...though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:6)
Pain is real. Loss hurts, failure stings, disappointment aches, and abuse crushes our spirit. But none of these lasts forever. There are seasons of pain and times of intense grief, but there will come a day when every tear is wiped away.
The pages of Scripture overflow with times of failure, pain, and mourning as well as times of joy, victory, and celebration. In between are years of monotonous normalcy. Thankfully, pain subsides.
Noah heard jeers and catcalls while building the Ark.
Abraham buried Sara.
The children of Israel suffered in bondage.
Naomi lost her home, husband and both sons.
David fought the Philistines and ran from Saul.
Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego faced the furnace’s flames.
Esther risk her life.
Peter denied Christ.
Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas.
Jesus spent three days in the tomb.
And then:
Noah’s Ark saved the human race.
Abraham took a new wife.
The Israelites were liberated to become God’s chosen people.
Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth entered the line of David and Jesus
David became king.
Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego were saved and exalted.
Esther saved her people.
Peter was recommissioned by Jesus.
Mark wrote a Gospel.
Jesus rose victoriously from the grave.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us, there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Pain breaks our glasses – it keeps us from seeing too far down the road. All we can deal with is the current intensity of the pain, hurt, loss, disappointment, or abuse that surrounds us – for a little while. We must look for the light of a new day dawning and remember, it is always darkest just before dawn.
Peter’s reminder gives me hope. God has set limits on our pain. For a little while reminds us that better days are yet to come. And ultimately, the day is coming when He will wipe away every tear and set everything right!
Dan Bolin
President
Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc
