Big Picture

Life is chaotic.  Pressures build, bad things happen, and the unexpected is more normal than anyone anticipates.  I find myself cringing when I listen to the rolling clich?s.  It is as if we do not want to appreciate just how difficult things can be.  Life can be a bitch!  In the midst of wonder and awe, turmoil is a familiar enemy.  While beauty emerges, evil lurks.  Even as mercy sees the light of day, selfishness is playing in the shadows.  When we deny the bad stuff in life we often find ourselves unable to see the good.
As I rediscover Singapore, I find myself reliving my early high school years. There is a dark side to those years that I have long ignored.  I thought they were behind me.  I assumed I could remember without any particular animosity, frustration, or negative emotion.  In reality the fullness of the experience is still present in my soul.  The anger, loneliness, and angst still live.  Yet there is one aspect that is very different.  I see life is a different context.
I find myself seeing Singapore through the eyes of a compassionate God filled.  I see the fancy cars and shopping patterns and wonder if anyone is reaching out to those unable to defend her or his self.  I catch myself enjoying a wonderful meal with reluctance because I know others will go to sleep hungry.  I wake up eager to tackle the challenges of the day.  The anticipation lets me walk knowing I am a fortunate individual living with the gift of having a job I enjoy.  Even as I struggle to deal with life’s junk, I recall God’s promise: “‘I create the blacksmith who fires up his forge and makes a weapon designed to kill.  I also create the destroyer—but no weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.  Any accuser who takes you to court will be dismissed as a liar.  This is what God's servants can expect.  I'll see to it that everything works out for the best.’  God's Decree.”  (Isaiah 54.16, 17)