According to the date stamp, it’s been over eight months since I’ve updated this blog.
It’s been a rough year.
Shortly after that last post my wife’s grandmother died. While any death is hard, our world exploded Memorial Day weekend.
There are some phone calls you never want to receive. Phone calls that cut you off at the knees. Phone calls that shatter you to your core.
We received one of those phone calls.
On Friday, May 27th Lindsay’s beloved aunt was murdered by her soon to be ex-husband in a murder-suicide. They left behind two children.
I will not rehearse the details, but there’s no greater purpose to events like this.
God wasn’t teaching me some grand lesson. It wasn’t all according to his benevolent plan.
Nor will I blame God. God did not pull the trigger.
It was a point blank reminder that this world is full of darkness and I’ve spent most of the last year learning what it means to live again.
Shortly after we heard the news, Lindsay and I made a promise to ourselves: no matter what happens in our life, no matter what happened next we were going to choose life.
Choosing life is choosing God.
Choosing life is choosing a God on the side of justice, the weak, the marginalized, the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the weak.
Choosing life is recognizing that the good news of Jesus Christ is in fact good news. It’s the sort of good news where the unloved are loved. The suffering have a companion. The hurting have a healer.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus talks about giving life and life to the full. There’s a tension in that promise. While it points to a future fulfillment of a time of where Saint Paul says “God will be all in all”, it’s about life now. It’s about vitality. It’s about an unflinching hope in God's future--a future so powerful that it transforms the present. It’s about the kingdom. It’s an embrace of the world God created, loves, and saves. It’s looking suffering straight in the eyes and seeing a new and better way. It’s joining with God and kicking back at the darkness.
Wow, Kyle. I think I remember hearing about this, but it obviously didn't register. A hard and dark year indeed. Thanks for choosing life, and God. May you know his grace and be aware of his presence as you walk through the darkness and mess.
ReplyDeleteI have prayed hard for your family and i will continue to pray.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete*cries*
Beautiful, and courageous, Kyle. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for reading and the kind words.
ReplyDelete