Perfect Gifts

I stood before my choir family just days ago giving them a last-minute Thanksgiving speech. With the extra time we had, I asked them as a group to share some things they were thankful for. They went down the line, some pausing to think, others answering immediately. Nice things were said about faith, family, food, friends, and football. Anything you can think of, these kids mentioned. The last person spoke and I was about to close things out when a voice from the back said, "What about you?"

It hadn't occurred to me that I might need to say something. I hadn't given it a lot of thought. In the few seconds I had to think, I found myself suddenly overcome with emotion.

"There's just so much," I finally said. Several people nodded their heads in approval. I went on to name just a few things that I was incredibly thankful for, but there was so much I didn't say. I thought back to the beginning of the month, when I first made my Thanksgiving proposition. I issued a challenge to several of my friends, that from November 1st to Thanksgiving day to write down one thing each day they were thankful for. I accepted the challenge myself, and I must say it helped me tremendously.

Today was technically the last day of the challenge. I woke up this morning and began searching through my Bible, as I often do, hoping to find a good message for today. I came across the passage I used to start the challenge, with the key verse being 1 Thessalonians 5:18. It gave me the inspiration to issue a new challenge, directed at everyone.

I'm not saying you have to keep a formal list, although that's what I'll be doing and it might be fun. You could post it on your various social network accounts. I did that as well, and I thought it was pretty cool to see less that dishonors God on Twitter and more that brings glory to Him. However you would prefer to keep track, even just in your head, is fine. It doesn't have to be a daily thing, but it can be if you want to do it that way. All that matters is that whenever you think of something to be thankful for, be thankful for it.

 It has become evident to me in the past 28 days that the things we should thank God for are endless. There shouldn't be a deadline on your thankfulness, and we shouldn't have to set aside a day for it. Every day is a gift from God, so why not thank Him for it? James 1:17 is one of my favorite verses, and it says that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. If we focus a little bit more on that, we'll have a better perspective in general and we will be better living out our purpose, which is to glorify God.

If you do accept the challenge, pass it on. The goal is to bring honor to God in all that we do. He has given us so many great ways of doing that. Start thanking Him for it. And as you stuff yourself with stuffing and gobble down some turkey, keep in mind what the purpose of Thanksgiving really is, and don't forget to give thanks.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." --1 Thessalonians 5:18

A Perfect Morning in an Imperfect World

I woke up this morning, and would you believe it? The sun was shining. I made the conjecture that everyone else in the world who woke up this morning witnessed the same thing.

I proceeded to get ready for my day, noting the fact that I was taking a warm shower and putting on clean clothes. I turned on my favorite Chris Tomlin CD, noting that I was in a house with electricity and proceeded to open my Bible, which someone so graciously translated into my language so I could have my own copy of the word of God. I found myself looking through the book of John, and happened to come across one of my long-time favorite verses, which is John 16:33.

It occurred to me as I read it that I had in fact had a perfect morning. Today is, in fact, my fifteenth birthday. I could hardly think of any tribulation I might currently be having. That, however, is when it occurred to me that not everyone could say the same. As of that moment, countless people were starving or cold or sick and dying. People were losing loved ones. So many people in so many places were hurting in some way. Even as I write this, I am aware of that fact.

The idea that kept coming to mind was the doctrine of common grace. I kept thinking about how, regardless of who you are or where you are, you got to see the sun shine today. You got to look outside at all of the beautiful things God made. Although it's true that not everyone had a great day today, I'm sure that anyone in the world could think of a situation that could be worse. Why is that?

I like to think of what my camp pastor this past summer, Matt Carter, had to say on the subject. He said,  "For those of you who are in Christ, this world is as close to hell as you're going to get."

That's the most exciting news I've ever heard! As believers, we have assurance that we're going to heaven someday, where we will be in the presence of God (Revelation 21:3). Nothing in the world can possibly do any real damage to us, because it is all temporary. Any tribulation in our lives is going to end sooner than we can imagine, and we will be in a place where everything is perfect because there is no sin.

In John 16:33, we are told that we are going to have tribulation. It's guaranteed in this world. The key there is that it will be in this world, but that Jesus has already overcome this world! He overcame sin and death, so that those who are in Christ will spend eternity not in this world, but in the New Earth in the presence of the one, true, living God. I think that's a really good reason to take heart.

The point of what Jesus is saying here is that we shouldn't focus on the struggles of this life. It goes back to Philippians 4:4. We should rejoice always because of the promises that God has made, knowing that he will keep them and that we are so incredibly blessed. As you go through the next few days (and the next few decades), keep in mind just how blessed you are. That way, when you wake up tomorrow and the sun is shining again, you can have one more thing on an endless list of things to be thankful for, God's grace being at the top. As you enjoy your holiday and as you go back to your 'normal life,' take heart in the fact that Jesus has overcome the world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." --John 16:33

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Whether you're an avid reader or not, you've probably, at some point in your life, been so consumed in a book or story that you just could not put it down, or so engulfed in a TV show that you couldn't take your eyes off of the screen. But if you are really aware of what you are reading or watching, you might think a little more about doing just that.

If you've ever been to a fun house, you've probably looked into a fun house mirror. If you're like me, those mirrors probably scared you a little bit because of what they do. They reflect just as a normal mirror does, but they distort it. In the article The Case for Good Taste in Children's Books*,  Meghan Cox Gurdon says that adolescent books tend to reflect the world in a similar way. And it seems that the problem affects a much larger group of people than just those adolescents.

The two words 'young' and 'impressionable' always go together pretty well. But the messages that society is sending can affect every individual regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. For example, you might hear of an unspeakable crime and dismiss it as nothing because it's normal. You might be in the midst of tragedy with no hope but you don't look for more because it happens all the time. "That's how it is," you might say, or maybe, "That's real life."

But what makes it real life? It's probably not something you've experienced close to home before, so why should it seem so normal to you? If you think about it, it's probably something you heard in a song or read in a book or seen on TV or in a movie. What you typically don't realize is that that's just a worldly portrayal of 'real life,' and that it is commonly very distorted.

The creators of these distortions have presented several argument. One of the arguments is that these portrayals really are 'real life.' People suffer through similar problems every day. But statistically speaking, the amount of people going through these novel-worthy problems is a lot smaller than you would think. And for the small percentage of people that really do have similar life experiences, why would they want to read a book or watch a show about it? This argument implies not only that it doesn't frighten the majority of people because they have experienced something similar, but also that they would enjoy reading about it or watching it on TV.

Does a foster child want to watch a show about the crazy life of a foster child constantly on the run? Is it beneficial to them? What about a person with a personality disorder or a physical disability? Why would they want to be in constant contact with the exaggerated, sometimes comical portrayals of people similar to themselves? What about you? Is it healthy to fill your mind with such things? The answer should be pretty obvious. You shouldn't have a distorted view of the world or of real life.

So does that mean that literature and television should be completely filtered and clean? Not necessarily. In real life there really are scary things like pornography and violence. They really do exist, and there is no hiding that. The problem comes when you are inferring from what you read or watch that that's all there is. Gurdon compares this issue to Caravaggios' portrait of David and the head of Goliath. The image would be very dark and grotesque if not for the rays of light. Much the same way, we return the distorted portrayal of the real world back to a clear image with light, which comes from God alone. He shines light into our dark world and he is the good we find here. In order to have the light in your mind, you must fill your mind with good, and not with the distortions of the world.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." -Philippians 4:8


* Imprimis, 42:7/8

America: Strength In Adversity

I was thinking about the significance of today’s date when a question came to mind: If I could have a conversation with the men who started this country, what would I tell them? What questions would I have? Would I complain about our country as it stands today? Would I simply say thank you? Or would I tell them with pride about our strength in adversity? I envisioned a conversation with men such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and so many others, and it went a little bit like this:

What do you get when you combine a bunch of impoverished farmers and tenacious self-governed men, throw in a seven page government, and add a plethora of patriotism? That’s the first question I would have for the brilliant men that fought for and envisioned a great union. I would then proceed to tell them the tales of our pits and peaks, the best we’ve given, and the extent of our loss.

I would start with the impact of the government they built in the short amount of time that they had. How could they possibly have known that seven pages of well thought out statements of how to run a country would last all these years? Who would have guessed that people who couldn’t even find the importance of bathing could write up a document that would be the government of the greatest country in the world? Even now, with the nearly ridiculous technology of today, we use that old document.

I would have to explain 1861, when our own country was divided over something that now seems completely absurd. The very notion of one man owning another is ludicrous to our culture. I would mention 1865, when one of our country’s greatest presidents was killed by an acrimonious southerner: the first presidential assassination. I would talk about how the twentieth century began with World War I. I would tell the tales of the way we drafted the bravest men known as “heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than selves their country loved and mercy more than life,” and how they fought side by side, brothers among brothers, with the British to protect what they, our founding fathers, believed was self –evident.

            I would speak of Korea and Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the other places our country’s best have gone for freedom and liberty’s sake. I would talk about the omnipotent God in whom we trust and believe and how he has protected us even as evil has unleashed its fury on us, much the way it did when two commercial jets crashed into our World Trade Center and left their shrapnel in our hearts forever. I would tell them how we wouldn’t rest until we had been avenged, and we were successful. I would explain the wars that followed, and the life lost every day since the signing of the Declaration of Independence for the cause of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

            I would thank them profusely for their unprecedented example. This group of men did something no one had ever even attempted before, and I would have to say they did an amazing job. With only words on paper and a love for something they could hardly understand, they created this nation, and that same love has kept it alive through all of these hardships and all of this time.

            I would end by saying proudly that it’s been a long, tough journey, and it’s not over yet. We’ve fought long and hard; we’ve won and we’ve lost. We’ve mourned as a nation so many times and fought through so much adversity. We’ve made some compromises along the way, and some of our values have reformed with the rest of civilization. However, this is our home. This is one nation under God. This is the United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Again I Will Say, Rejoice!

A Colloquy On Rejoicing

Remember, O My Soul,
It is thy duty and privilege to rejoice in God:
He requires it of thee for all his favours of grace.
Rejoice then in the Giver and his goodness,
Be happy in him, O my heart, and in nothing but God,
for whatever a man trusts in,
from that he expects happiness.

He who is the ground of thy faith
should be the substance of thy joy.

Whence then come heaviness and dejection,
when joy is sown in thee,
promised by the Father,
bestowed by the Son,
inwrought by the Holy Spirit,
thine by grace,
thy birthright in believing?

Art thou seeking to rejoice in thyself
from an evil motive of pride and self-reputation? Thou hast nothing of thine own but sin,
nothing to move God to be gracious,
or to continue his grace towards thee. If thou forget this thou wilt lose thy joy.

Art thou grieving under a sense of indwelling sin? Let godly sorrow work repentance,
as the true spirit which the Lord blesses,
and which creates fullest joy; Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,
Self-loathing draws down divine delights.
Hast thou sought joys in some creature comfort?
Look not below God for happiness;
fall not asleep in Delilah’s lap.
Let God be all in all to thee, and joy in the fountain that is always full.

I present to you yet another wake-up call I found in the book, The Valley of Vision. This is not a prayer, but  a reminder from the author to himself. A colloquy is defined as a conversation, and this is a conversation between the author and himself. He is reminding himself of something I think we all need to be reminded of occasionally.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Philippians 4:4-9. Philippians 4:4 is my favorite verse. It's not long or drawn out, and it doesn't require any interpretation. We are told to rejoice in the Lord, and in case we didn't get it, Paul says it again: rejoice. You wouldn't think that's something we need to be reminded of, but I think it is.

At a Bible study I attended this past year, we were asked this question at one point: Are we on a quest for truth or a quest for happiness? We didn't have to think about it very long. The Declaration of Independence says that among the rights given to us by God are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Americans have a strong belief in that, and I think that many other people subconsciously agree at least with the third part. Everyone should have the right to pursue happiness.

But there are a few issues within that topic. The first one we come to is this: We have the right to pursue happiness, but do we have the right to be happy? If that's the case, we better do something about it. There are a lot of incredibly unhappy people. However, all of those unhappy people have the right to pursue happiness.

So we can all pursue happiness, and most of us do. Different people look for different things to make them happy, and most people eventually find that thing that will make them happy. It may be your family or your friends; maybe it's money or some tangible item. Maybe it's the little things in life like a beautiful sunrise or a cool breeze. But there's always this nagging problem: All of those things are things that will eventually fade away. What do you do then? For lots of people, the next step is to find a new source of happiness, but it always ends the same way. It's always temporary.

This reminds me of the hedonistic paradox: if we seek happiness and don't find it, we become frustrated. But if we seek happiness and find it, we become bored. This explains why it makes more sense to seek joy.

People like to say happiness and joy are synonymous, but I think differently. Happiness is found in the things I mentioned above, and it doesn't last. But joy, pure and authentic, is found in the only infinite one in the world: God. Think about it. Remember a time when you felt truly joyful, and think about why. Every moment of true joy in every person's life can be traced back to God.

So when Paul says rejoice always, it's not such a difficult thing to do. The wonderful thing about rejoicing in the Lord is that, as Romans 11:36 says, from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. As the author says, all that's ours is our sin. So when you look at the sunrise that makes you happy, think of the Lord and rejoice. When you're with the friends you love, rejoice. When life seems okay, rejoice. In suffering and in tribulation, rejoice. In all things, rejoice.

And in case you still don't get it, again I will say, rejoice!

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

   where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

   hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

   that the way down is the way up,

   that to be low is to be high,

   that the broken heart is the healed heart,

   that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

   that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

   that to have nothing is to possess all,

   that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

   that to give is to receive,

   that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

   and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

   Thy life in my death,

   thy joy in my sorrow,

   thy grace in my sin,

   thy riches in my poverty

   thy glory in my valley.

What you just read is a puritan prayer, The Valley of Vision. You can find it, among others, in the book by the same name. When I first started reading the book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. My fear was that the wording would be confusing, or that I might not understand what the author was saying, or that maybe the issues in the prayers of the 1600s would be outdated and insignificant in this day in age. I was, as you might have guessed, pleasantly surprised.

The topic of this prayer is not only something that I have personally experienced, but it is also something I believe we all come across. Disagree if you will, but I think that everyone reaches a valley at some point in their life. Some people may find themselves there more than once, and some people's valleys may be a bit deeper. But if you say that as far as life goes, you've never reached a valley, I would tell you that either you will, or that you have and just don't really see it that way. I've even known people that were in a valley and just didn't realize it.

I think that a valley can be just about anything. It could be a slap in the face from reality, a confidence issue, a loss, a sin in your life, or anything else you can think of. You might be going through physical pain, or maybe you're having emotional or spiritual problems. We don't all go through the same things, and we each have our difficulties.

If you read my last post, you know that I believe that we are not in control of our lives. So what do we do when we reach this valley? So many people try to take control. They might look down and take it step by step, or they might look ahead just a little bit and aim to just keep on until they get out. But there's one thing people don't often do, and the author of this prayer had it figured out. When you look up, what are you expecting?

For those of you who have been to a place of mountains and valleys, you know that the best view of things is from the top. When you get down to the bottom, you don't have such a good view. All you can see is what is right above you. So this man was saying that he was in one of life's metaphorical valleys, and he looked up and saw nothing above him but God in the heights.

He goes on to talk about learning in paradox (which is probably a topic for another blog post) and he explains himself rather well. Then he says that in the deepest wells in the daytime, stars can be seen. And the deeper the wells, the brighter the stars shine. That's a strange thought, but again he is saying that even in the depth of his situation, God's glory is radiant and plain for all to see. He continues by asking God that what he goes through in his life would bring the opposite from God, and ends it by asking to find God's glory in his valley.

Shouldn't we be asking for the same thing? It seems that every time we find ourselves in a tough situation, we instantly assume God will get us out of it as soon as we ask. That's not always true, and we don't always know exactly why. 2 Corinthians 7-10 talks about something that happened to Paul. He was given a thorn, and it was obviously painful. He asked God to take it away three times, but God doesn't do it. Finally, God says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that his grace is sufficient. This helps Paul to understand that even though he's not having the most pleasant time, God is being glorified through his situation. All he had to do was look up.

So the next time you find yourself going through one of life's valleys and you ask God to help you out of it, keep in mind that whatever God does, he's receiving the glory. And if you forget that, just remember to look up from your valley: the Valley of Vision.

Establishes Means Establishes

Jonah was a prophet. God literally spoke to him. He and God talked to each other. Do you ever wonder what on earth he was thinking when he decided he could run from God?

The God he spoke to was omnipresent. You can't run away from someone that's everywhere. Why did he even try? Lately I've noticed something. Regardless of who the target audience is, pop culture seems to have one incredibly important message for us. So many new-age movies and television shows find it incredibly important that we understand that we are in control of our lives. William Ernest Henley ended his famous poem, Invictus, by saying, "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

That sounds so inspirational and moving. Everyone likes the sound of that at first. But then we start to think about it. Do I really control my fate? The idea in and of itself is absolutely ridiculous. You don't tell your loved ones when the time is right for them to pass away. You don't tell your banker how much money you should have. You don't tell the world what you will do with your life. Sure, we can dream. We can wish. You can want something with all of your heart. You can work your life away trying to reach that goal. That's wonderful, and I respect you for working towards your goal. But you don't decide if and when you're going to get there.

As I said, God gives and takes away (Job 1). You can work for things you want and dream about things you don't have, but don't forget where they came from. You aren't entitled to a great life. God gave you everything you have. He always has and always will have a perfect and sovereign plan for each and every one of us. I said a long time ago that taking matters into your own hands won't usually work out. Jonah tried to get away from God, but he didn't get very far. In the end, God's will was done, just the way it is in our lives.

Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." We need to accept the fact that we truly are not in control. God will do what God will do, and we need to understand that as much as we hate to admit it, God is right and we are wrong. And what we want isn't always what we need. It's hard to accept. I for one certainly do not like to be wrong in my thoughts, words, or actions. But guess what? We aren't perfect.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I don't agree with the popular message that we are in control. Our sovereign, omnipotent God is in control, and that definitely doesn't bother me. Sure, there will be times when I'll be disappointed that I don't get what I want. There will be times when I won't understand what's going on. But the Lord establishes my steps, and nothing could bring me more peace.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

Is God A Vending Machine?

It's so easy to trust Christ when everything is falling apart, but what happens when everything seems okay?

Most people have been told at one point in their lives that when things get rough, they can fall on Jesus, metaphorically speaking. But why does it never occur to people to trust Jesus when things are easy? Doesn't it make more sense to assume God is at the center of the seemingly easy parts of our lives just as we assume He is of the hard parts? He is God, regardless of how life is going.
When things aren't going your way, what is your natural response? As a believer, your response is probably to bring your requests to God, trusting in His sovereign plan for you. And many of us know from experience that He may or may not answer these requests the way you hope He will. So when He doesn't, you keep persevering, knowing God is in control. But what do you do when He does?
Most often, we sort of forget that the reason we don't think we need to make time for God is because He's the reason we aren't in major trouble. He provides for our needs, and more often than not, we just don't remind ourselves that it was He, and not us.

Are we not all sinners? Have we forgotten that if not for Jesus we would all spend eternity separated from God? We need Jesus regardless of our earthly circumstances. I think the problem is that we focus too much on this life. In the craziness of the moment, we forget we have a lot more ahead of us than a few decades. So when things in this life seem perfect, though they never really are, we forget that if all you ever got from God was salvation through Jesus Christ, you would have much more than you deserve. You'd be too focused on how wrong things in your life are going to remember that. And then things start looking up, thanks to God, and you forget about Jesus again because life is great, so why worry about eternity?

God is not a vending machine. He's not your personal instant problem solver. God gives and takes away with His own perfect reasons. So rather than focus on what God is not doing for us when we aren't happy, we should start focusing on the fact that he gave us life in the first place, which we didn't deserve. And we should remember that we who are in Christ have an eternity with him. That alone should bring us a joy that we can't even contain. So let's rejoice in the Lord always. Let's share the joy with everyone. Let's remember that Jesus is all we need and not worry about anything else. Regardless of our circumstances and our feelings, let's remember to trust Christ in everything.
"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." -Isaiah 26:4

The Difference the Gospel Makes in My Sister's Keeper

Last night my mom and I watched My Sister’s Keeper.  For those of you who have seen it, you know how hopeless and sad the ending is. As the closing credits played, my mom and I were discussing how different it would have been if Christianity had been “part of the equation.” I wanted to share some of these points with you, just so you can have something to think about. For those of you who haven’t had the chance to see this movie, I’ll give you a synopsis. However, please note that my observations may bring about spoilers, so you might consider watching the movie first. 

Anna Fitzgerald is an eleven year old girl with a very unusual story. Whereas most babies are accidents and attempts to start a family, Anna has a different purpose. She was born for the sole purpose of saving her sister Kate’s life. Kate was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age. Because neither her parents nor her brother Jesse were a perfect match, her mom and dad agreed to have Anna. They started taking parts of Anna shortly after she was born, and everyone was okay with it on the surface. But now, at eleven years old, Anna “doesn’t want to do it anymore.” Thus she decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body in order to be medically emancipated. An epileptic lawyer teams up with her and they begin the battle for medical emancipation. We watch the family fall apart as Kate continues to deteriorate. In the end we discover that Kate orchestrated the whole thing. She wanted to die, and she knew she wouldn’t survive the next procedure. Therefore she made Anna pretend to be unwilling to donate her kidney, and asked both Anna and Jesse to keep it a secret. By the time the truth surfaces, it’s too late. Kate dies shortly after. No closure, no happy after-effects, no hope at all. Goodbye; the end.

Now I’m not saying this wasn’t a good movie. I enjoyed it very much. I would just like to point out the things they could’ve changed in order to make a happy, hopeful, Christ-oriented story, which I believe is very important. The first issue is the plot in general. This plot reminds me of Abram and Sarai’s decision in Genesis 16. God had promised Abram many descendants; as numerous as the stars in the sky. However, because Sarai was barren, she took matters into her own hands. She gave Abram her servant Hagar to be his wife, that they would have children. They did have a child, but he would not be the son with which God would establish his covenant because they had gone against God’s timing. This is similar to the decision Sara and Bryan Fitzgerald made in having Anna. They didn’t trust God or his perfect will. Instead they decided to take matters into their own hands and save Kate themselves. In the end they couldn’t save her. That’s because God’s will was that it was time for Kate to go on.

Another way they could’ve added some hope was through the ending. After Kate’s death we hear Anna talking about it. She says, “I wish I could tell you that there was some good that came out of it; that through Kate’s death we could all go on living. Or even that her life had some special meaning, like they named a park after her, or a street… or that the Supreme Court changed a law because of her. But none of that happened. She’s just gone… a little piece of blue sky now. And we all have to move on.” As I heard her say these words, I was deeply saddened. Where was the hope? Where was the light? After all of that sadness, heartache, and loss, could they not find anything to hold on to? The way Anna was talking, it sounded like her life ended when Kate’s did. Sure, the sun came out at the end, but what did that mean? Light is supposed to mean hope, but here it seems like there is none.

See, they missed the point of death completely. Death doesn’t have to mean the end. For those of us who believe, death is simply a part of life here on Earth, and we know we have something to look forward to. When we die, people miss us for the short time we are separated. But they do not continue to mourn because they know we will all be reunited in heaven someday, and we will spend eternity there. There will be no more sorrow, only endless joy. That’s the gospel, and it should just make you want to jump up and say, “Praise the Lord!” Why then, at the end of this movie, do we feel so hopeless and sad? It’s because for the Fitzgeralds, and for many others as well, there is no hope in death. They don’t know the gospel, and the price they pay is a sadness that lasts forever, and eternal separation from God.

I don’t want you to think this means I feel no sadness for the Fitzgeralds. Too many families lose children to cancer for me to count. I’ve known quite a few personally. It’s an experience you don’t forget, and it forces you to make some choices you never thought you would make. I can’t describe what it’s like to feel that way, because I don’t know. I hope I never will. I feel great sadness for these families, and I can’t judge them for their choices. All I can do is pray for them and hope they will come to know the gospel. I don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, but I know that when you put your trust in Jesus, there’s nothing you won’t make it through. Maybe you’ve felt what the Fitzgeralds felt, and maybe you haven’t. Either way, I hope you know the hope and the joy of putting your trust in Jesus. If you don’t, I can honestly promise you that it’s worth it.

My First Post

I'm sure you gathered from the title that my name is Callie. I am a fourteen-year-old student and an aspiring writer. My dad suggested I start a blog in order to communicate my thoughts and opinions to the world, as well as practice my writing skills in the hope that I will one day be a writer. As stated in my profile, my passion is fiction. I intend to post some of my short stories on this blog, as well as my analysis of the latest happenings and productions such as movies, books, and music. Your thoughts are an important part of my goal, so please feel free to comment on the things you read here. I'll be posting more soon. Thanks!