I Claim a Victory
Sometimes things just don’t go as we hoped. Or planned. Or expected. Sometimes a long awaited event becomes a moment to grieve. And high expectations crumble into hard realities.
It’s easy to run from these times. To excuse them away with hows and whys. To miss their ability to teach. To dismiss the hard and cling to the easy.
But there is sweet learning in the places and people and moments that require more grace. More pouring out. More restraint. More honesty. For times such as these demand more Jesus. More trust. More patience. More yield. And it’s in patience that we grow and in yielding that we are shaped. When we choose to surrender the hard moments to the One Who Redeems, when we choose vulnerability over protective defenses and boundaries – we make room for redemption.
This is what sets us a part. This is what makes us different. As a people, as a church, as a body, as a family. It’s not that we aren’t broken. It’s not that we don’t face trials. It’s not that we don’t struggle in our relationships. What ought to set us a part is the way we respond to our broken realities. It’s facing hardship with humility. It’s recognizing God’s quenching amidst exhaustion. It’s choosing honest communication over silent frustration. It’s being vulnerable when all we really want to do is protect ourselves.
Our response is powerful. And it will always change the outcome.
Redemption can only follow struggle. Healing comes only to the wounded. Restoration happens only among the broken. Hope is discovered only after disappointment.
And we won’t know just how sweet He is unless we taste the bitter.
And so I receive the hard week. I grieve what could have been and offer praise for the ways he sustained us, giving us what we needed to laugh in between. To hug through lost words. To wonder together. To pray through the mystery. To teach our children better ways. To affirm after the frustration. To never stop loving. To respect the differences. To hope for a new tomorrow.
I claim a victory today. A victory in grace. I hope they do too.
