There are seasons of life. There are times when all is well and times when we are face down in the dirt. And there are many variations between those two extremes. The conversations on the streets in our community in North San Diego county have been about the tragic deaths of two teenage girls, Amber Dubois and Chelsea King. Amber disappeared on Feb. 9, 2009 while on her way to school and her body was found last Saturday. Chelsea was running around a local lake and disappeared to be found dead a few days later.
Parents, teens and many adults are groaning inwardly and outwardly. For some it is a thick cloud that covers their movements. For others, it is a heavy heart for the families and for our children. For some questions arise to the heavens seeking answers to life's greatest dilemmas. Since the early days of scripture the groaning has existed. Adam and Eve had to ask themselves "why" when one son killed another.
Scripture teaches us that we live in a bent, fallen, maimed world. When sin entered the picture of life by the choices of Adam and Eve, the perfect world God created turned on its head. "The whole creation groans." The promise of God is that one day he will straighten out the misshapen situation. The promise of God is that we also have Jesus who is alive and active in our world - he has not finished his healing work.
Praying is all we can do. Not for answers but groaning to God to communicate the pain and anguish. Matt Woodley in his book The Folly of Prayer writes "prayer doesn't resolve the tension of living in a fallen world; it intensifies the ache. Prayer makes us groan louder, not softer. Groaning gets us in touch with the pain and the hope, the ache and the glory, the deep sadness and the nearly unbearable joy of life in a Christ-redeemed world."
So while the answers may not be clear, keep praying. Keep groaning to God. He hears. He sees and he groans as well. Keep asking what to do with the pain? What to learn? How to protect those you love?
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