Better isn't easy

     Throughout the entire process of losing our home, I have heard people say, "Well, God obviously has something better for you." And, let me tell you, while that may be true, it isn't always what I wanted to hear in the moment.

    The thing is, I know the character of God well enough to know that he would not allow us to go through the tragedy and trauma of losing our home and 2 kittens in a fire on Christmas day to put us in a situation of homelessness or eternal struggle. But, that doesn't mean that I found much comfort in that statement while I was watching my home burn to the ground or dealing with the aftermath of the fire.

    What I have come to realize over the course of the past few months, is yes, God will sometimes allow these big things to happen to us because we may not otherwise have moved. And typically, yes, he does that because he wants better for us. 

    But, better is not synonymous with easy.

    Just because God has better for us does not mean that there are not struggles to get to the better. David was told at age 12 that he would be king, and first had to endure prison. Esther became a queen after essentially risking her life for the sake of her people. Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, but it meant that she and her husband had to endure some, shall we say, gossip, due to the circumstances under which Jesus came to earth. Jesus knew that there was better on the other side of the cross, but the road getting there was anything but easy. 

    There was suffering. There were trials. There were lessons and tears and doubt to get to the "better" that God had in store. 

    I know that I have been guilty of thinking that, just because God has something better for me, that the better is going to be easy, which causes frustration when it doesn't. Especially when i get removed from a situation I was in that was otherwise fairly comfortable. Who wants to be removed from a comfortable and familiar situation and struggle with a promise of "there's better on the other side", especially when we have no idea how long it's going to take to get to the better?

    David waited decades after being prophesied over before becoming king. God never told him at what age he would wear the crown, he just lived for years on faith that God would fulfill his promise. Esther had to endure an entire process of grooming with no real promise that she would ever become queen. Mary brought Jesus in to the world with both of them knowing that they only had a short time together, but unable to fully grasp the suffering that Jesus would endure. 

    I had hoped that the better would be easy because the tragedy was hard .But, I was reminded that God's word tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. A yoke is something that is specifically used to carry a heavy load. God would not have had to give us these instructions unless he knew from the get go that life would be heavy and we would need some help carrying that load. He knows that the easy was is not always the "good" way, so he provided provision for that load.

    These past few months, i have had to lean on God to yoke myself with him in new ways to get to the "better" because not much of this has been easy. There have been tears and tantrums and lots of questions. But, fortunately for me, even in those moments, God does not without his love, his guidance or his peace from me because, at the end of the day, I am still his daughter.