And That’s The Way It Goes!

My mother-in-law, who has always been known for her wit, called me a couple of nights ago and she was on a roll. Typically, it is just a “check-in” call to see how things are going, but this night she was recalling some stories of her childhood and how she and her brother got into mischief. And that story led to another story. There are times when she’ll repeat stories that I’ve heard dozens of times before, but this night, they were all fresh ones. She told me how the floods were coming quickly in Winnipeg (Canada) in the early 50s and how she had to pack a little suitcase and send her boy, my husband (then 4 years old), away to a friend’s home so he would be protected. She said he stood in the driveway with his little coat on and holding his little suitcase….looking so sad and forlorn. I can visualize that picture now.

Mom finds great joy in talking about the past because she has such sweet memories of when times were tough, but God brought them through each and every time. The floods came, but they had the good sense to move their best furniture to higher ground before their home was under water.

Now, here we are in 2016 and. if taken at face value, it may seem we’re in such a perilous and concerning time. When we listen to the news reports or to a voice that just called us on our phone, or when we’ve read the latest updates on social media and take them just as they are, it may seem as if the best escape is for God to open up a window above us in the sky and snatch us away to a better place beyond the clouds.

Mom has a habit of saying “And that’s the way it goes”. That’s kind of the way she has looked at life — when she could be down because her dear husband passed away and left her a widow some twenty years ago or that she can’t get around as good as she once could…..she just patiently and calmly says, “And that’s the way it goes.”

Here’s the deal — we shouldn’t be down about the way things appear. Let’s don’t lose hope based on what our news anchor or our social media feed or our great-aunt Lillie may be trying to tell us about the gloom and the doom and the brokenness of this world. All of this is not too much for God to handle. Whatever decade or political year or tough year it was, and is today, literally, whatever is upon us, will never stump God, or leave Him wondering what in the world to do next. I’m quite sure none of the stuff is enough to make God throw his hands up in surrender.

Psalm 147:5 says “…..He is abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.” ! Samuel 2:3 “For the LORD is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed.” Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity; plans to give you a future and a hope.” Psalm 27:1

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”

Mom has it right. “That’s the way it goes” — trusting, leaning on and depending on our KNOW-IT-ALL God, is the way to live a calm, peaceful, and assured life.