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as i relayed the details of a past of which i’m not proud, my new friends listened intently. it’s never easy to be openly vulnerable with the dark corners of the past. some pieces of my history i’ve left far behind, and others linger in their effect on my every day life.
still, as i spoke, we each sensed a truth that was present in the conversation ::
‘The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.
Beautiful people do not just happen.’
— elisabeth kübler-ross
what i have experienced in my own life – my successes and my failures; my strengths and my shortcomings; my discernment and my indiscretion; my prosperity and my pain; my joys and my heartache – each have contributed to the story of reconciliation and redemption God is intent on writing in my life.
the same is true of you.
this is the great promise in paul’s epistle to the romans – that all things work together for good. despite our wanderings, in the midst of our seeming inability to appropriately follow the narrow road that leads to an abundant life, God is committed to us.
regardless of what pressures or trials or defeats we have experienced – despite our waywardness – we are reminded that God is on our side. for us, with us and working all things toward good.
and that, my friends, is good news.
