Fair

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." Romans 8:28

Every person goes through disappointments and things that don't seem to make sense. It's easy to get discouraged and think, "Why did this happen to me?" "Why did my loved one not make it?" "Why did this person treat me wrong?" "Why did I get laid off?"

I could give you a billion jillion reasons and circumstances when I have cried out to God and said with tears rolling down my face, "God, this is just not fair. It's not right. I don't like it. Make it go away."

It's not fair that my marriage was supposed to be perfect and forever.

It's not fair my grandmother had to have a stroke and hasn't been the same since.

It's not fair that I failed Physics 2 even though I tried my absolute hardest.

It's not fair that there is a disease called cancer.

It's not fair that Sadie is scared to death of men because one stupid jerk hurt her so bad. And for the record, it's not fair that he did that to her because he knew it was a sure way to break my heart. (It worked.)

It's not fair that hearts are breakable in the first place.

It's not fair that my parents will probably not outlive me and my sister and we will one day be planning their funerals and saying good bye to the two people in the world who mean absolutely everything to us.

I have had to learn to understand that even though life is not always fair, God is fair. He promises that He will work all things together for our good. I believe the key word in the verse above is "together." I have learned (and I'm still learning) that I can't just isolate one part of my life and say "Well, this circumstance means my life is not good." "It's not good that I got laid off." "It's not good that I completely got majorly screwed over for any number of ridiculous circumstances." "It's not good that my relationship didn't work out."

Yes, those things might be 100% true, but those things are just one part of my life. Those things are NOT my entire life. God can see the big picture. My heartache and disappointment is not the end. My life doesn't stop because of one setback. And it will never stop because of one setback. That is simply one piece of my puzzle.

While it is definitely not "fair" that all those crappy things have happened in my life, there are also more positive things that seem pretty unfair:

It's not fair that a loving and holy God chose to send His only Son Jesus to die on the cross for all my screw-ups.

It's not fair that I've never gone without and many kids don't even have a stable support system.

It's not fair that I've always had a roof over my head and some people have always been homeless.

It's not fair that I am healthy and strong and yet people who have done more good than me will die after having cancer for only a month or two.

It's not fair that I have the best sister ever, while some people grow up alone and without a live-in best friend.

It's not fair that no matter what my family will be by my side, believing in me when I have absolutely no belief in myself, while some people have no one who cares for them like that.

There has always been another piece to my life's puzzle to counteract the negatives. And even still, there is another piece coming to connect it all the good AND bad because God promises to work all things together for my own good!

And all I can do is thank Him with my life.