How Shall We Now Live?

How Shall We Now Live

This past year has been quite the challenge for Kathi and me. For the first time in several years, there have been no crisis, no emergency trips out of state, no long-term hospital stays, no near-death experiences. It has been really calm and peaceful. Most people would think that it would be pure heaven. However, for us, it’s been like crawling around on our hands and knees in the thick smoke that envelopes a field after a long fought battle. The heavy gun fire has subsided, and we are thankful to be alive. But as we’ve surveyed the battlefield, the casualties amongst the platoon are immense; and as we examine our own bodies, we find wounds that run quite deep. We are tired and wounded, but the battle is over.

How does a person find his way back in to life that, in many ways, has gone on without him? To enter the highway of life from an on-ramp and quickly speed up to the flow of traffic belittles everything God has done during time spent at the exit, the exit where those major battles were fought, where the casualties were lost, and the wounds taken. There is no way to just plug right back in to life. There is more than just recognizing that “life is precious”, “the need to appreciate the finer things in life”, “to slow life down and take a daily hike”, etc. There are wounds that need healing, but at the same time, we can’t continue to crawl around in the midst of the smoke on the battle field and live life at an exit. So, how shall we now live?

I’m not sure how to answer that question, because I’m in the midst of dealing with it myself. However, there are several things I do know, and they are things that are guiding me in how to answer that question.

First of all, the God who chose me is the same God who prepared me and is the same God who showed Himself to me during my dark moments of the soul, and He is the same God who longs to be with me even now. He’s the same God that desires those same shouting matches we had before. Just because the “life issues” are not as intense and stressful, doesn’t mean the deep conversations and sweet fellowship with God have to stop. On the contrary – He wants more of them because it means He gets more of us. I should strive to be like Job “ Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. “ – Job 13:15

Second, God loves His people, and He has commanded us to love and care for them. By bringing us close to so many other hurting people, and walking a fine line with Maggie between heaven and earth, He’s allowed us to see people through a different lens, through a lens of compassion and empathy. What does that look like practically? I’m not sure, but I do know that attending church is a different experience for us now. We’re not satisfied with the pat answers people give us about how they are doing, the fake smiles, and the idle chit chat. We are much more interested in learning about what is really happening in that life sitting across the table from us. We are much more interested in investing in the lives around us so we can know how to practically help them and pray for them.

So, how shall we now live? That’s a hard question to answer right now and it is pretty complex. Life experiences that God brings shouldn’t just be tucked away neatly and placed on a bookshelf to admire for afar. However, I do know that it begins with getting off the battle ground and getting on to a new road that He has prepared especially for us from the fruits of the battle just fought, one that moves at its own pace, and one that has its own beautiful scenery. It’s about sitting down with God in the recliner, opening up Scripture, and asking Him to show Himself to us in some unreal ways.