Cherry, Carli, and Whitney left yesterday. Everyone felt the same, uncertain, facing the unknown, and being apart. Fortunately Carli and Whitney have the ability to just get things done when their bodies is telling them that they would rather stay as a single unit.
Given the emotions and fears present when we departed, one is missing. We know that we will be together if at all possible. There is no chance that any one of us would ever “just leave”. The emotional fear – of being abandoned, of desertion, or have one of the family say that they just don’t care – just is not there.
I often act as if God is finally going to wise up; get smart. It as if I think God has been putting on an act for the universe for eternity and finally, he gets smart and decides to come clean. In the scenario God departs for good. For justifiable reasons, He abandons, deserts, and just leaves the humanity who has fought him for centuries at every corner. Perhaps it is that I am still a child looking for the assurance that a parent actually loves me.
Yesterday, alone in the garage making stretcher frames, I argued with God. I told him that I didn’t see him telling me that I was loved. There was a small task that takes two steps. Being lazy I tossed the item, knowing that I would need pick it up and complete the task. As I spewed, the item flew twisted and curved, landing exactly on the mark. God said, “I care, however, frequently you do not listen! I have and will always be there for you.”
God is at war. For reasons totally his, He threw his lot in with ours. Jesus at Calvary, God vs. Satan, and God’s very character all express fully knowledgeable and unconditional love and acceptance. “God has been too long involved with [you, me, and] Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of [us or] them.” (Romans 11.2)
God won the battle. God is always with us.
