So I’ve been dealing with big losses over the last two years and in that I’ve stepped away from my passions in what I identified as time to heal, but really I was just mad and sad. My friend from the Navy, who always puts me on to something positive, invited me to a 365 day Bible reading plan that started at the top of the year. In that, I’ve gone through several emotions getting a deeper understanding of really the meaning of my life and my relationship with the Lord.
I grew up in the church so there are some parts of the Bible that I’ve memorized, and other parts that I’ve only received the children’s church version and never felt moved to investigate further. Over the last 12 days I’ve been re-reading my favorite book in the Bible, Job. After months of weird Old Testament stuff, and “Power Ranger before his time” David, I was ready to get back into this story. I usually stay away from getting too “Spooky Christian” because I know that can be annoying and unhelpful (which is the opposite of what our faith asks us to be) but this book is so relatable I thought I’d share my takeaways:
- Life is full of jacked up things that happen at the individual level, that work out for the good at the Macro level and in the long run. Yes it sucks for you, but who knows how many will be spared because of your lesson?
- Your friends don’t always “Be Knowing” so even if they really care about you and have good intentions they might not be the source of Truth on a thing.
- Wisdom has nothing to do with age, and we have to have the courage to call out foolishness as it arises even when we aren’t the most seasoned in the room. We can wait out of the perception of “respect” but maybe if we interrupt the junk we can be the ones to save our Elders from themselves. They also don’t always “Be Knowing” and, when it’s time for them to pay for being wrong that’s a hard thing to watch after they’ve built decades ahead of you (Elihu didn’t get called to the carpet after he said what he KNEW and The Lord whipped through the scene to set the record straight… But his daddy did)
- You have NO IDEA why God lets things happen, nor is it really your business. Also, ain’t no such thing as you’re so dope in God’s eyes that you get special blessings. None of us are that special that we can’t get touched with the things of life. God is good in the dark and the light so set your default response to grateful.
- Don’t give up on your life just because things fall apart. If you keep waking up, you’ll eventually get to a place that isn’t so sad, scary or lonely.
This is my favorite book of the Bible because it gives a message of hope, courage, love and not thinking everything is about you even when in the moment it kinda is.
“But you don’t have to take my word for it.”-LeVar Burton
Black Maggie 