Beauty in the Midst of Hardship and Severity

Elizabeth and I took a road trip to NYC last week. We left in the midst of an ice storm and came back in the same. We started out and wondered if we should at least go back and get the Suburban, but continued on and at Blue Mountain Lake, the summit at that point of the Adirondacks, it miraculously turned into a completely different driving situation. Dry pavement and sunny skies the rest of the way and we were only slowed down by the major traffic congestion at the George Washington Bridge.

On the trip back home we were noticing and appreciating how beautiful the landscape was. I'm not sure you can appreciate the beauty of the scenery from my pictures. Much to Elizabeth's chagrin I took over 90 pictures trying to capture the majesty, glamour, sparkle and beauty of the trees, snow, and ice. And I did not really achieve my purpose, but the decidious trees especially were so magnificent. Their branches were totally encased with ice and then dusted with snow, blown up and around by the wind. It was like they were all encrusted with diamonds, sparkling in the crisp winter air, warmed by the blanket of snow.

And our first thought was that it was so beautiful to look at but it was so treacherous for us as we were driving. We were enjoying the beauty but we were in a dangerous situation. But then I thought, how much harder it must be for the trees. They certainly looked beautiful but at what cost? Some were upright and straight, regal, but some were bent down, labored with the heavy ice and snow that had encased them. Still others had completely snapped. Their trunks and branches were now on the ground, never to grow upwards again. Others were completely torn up, even the roots were exposed.

I am not making any analogies to our current situation. I don't believe God brings devestation and agony to families to make them beautiful. No, Jesus already did that when He took our punishment, our snow and ice, our penalty and gave us beauty for His pain, for His seperation from His father whom He had always been in close communion with. And God is good, he does good. However it is an interesting concept to meditate on. Pain, sorrow, disappointment, accidents and death are in the world and they happen to people. People that we love. People like us. Yes, they happen to my family and like Job, maybe God will not give us an answer as to why it happened, right now, or maybe never.

I do know that we sang a hymn at Redeemer two weeks ago that I had not sung in at least 25 years; HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION, and it brought hope and encouragement to me.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
What more can He say then to you he hath said;
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.

"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God, I will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
For I will be with thee, thy trials to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

I thank God for a good foundation in Him. We have been building from the Word, through prayer and in community a foundation that will not be shaken. We have had generations of family members before us who have shown us the importance of commiting to the Word and establishing truth in our lives. Cementing concepts, experiencing promises, fighting our enemy, rejoicing in victories, passing on the faith. We will not be uprooted by this adversity, this pain, this lose. I believe that He will "strengthen us, help us and cause us to stand." We may not look very beautiful right now, maybe we still cry frequently, our eyes are still puffy, we can't go to every event, we think about what could have been, but God's Word is true so I believe Luke 6:12 "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh"