Not long after my wife's diagnosis she had a dream where she and her siblings were speaking with Christ and each one had to choose a different challenge to live with and my wife chose lupus because she knew she was the only one who could handle it.
There is an article in which a scientist proposes that not only can consciousness survive the death of the body but it is also something that existed prior to birth. It is eternal.
This solidifies the faith of many. I just find it interesting but it does nothing to strengthen my faith because I believe faith to be the evidence of things unseen.
Find the article here.
Shakespeare said "All the world is a stage." And we must faithfully play our part because leading role or not we are all connected like ripples in a pond eventually we feel the effects of every action large or small.
I believe we were aware of what our lives would entail before we began it. I don't believe The Lord ever hands us obstacles or challenges we are not capable of over coming.
I have been diagnosed with a mental illness and it is very hard to manage. But I do manage.
For my part I believe my wife's dream in that I agreed to live my life with all the challenges it has brought me. And while much of it is sad my journey has also led me into a life with my wife and our children and I say all the pain, all the fury and tragedy, all the heart ache, all the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth it was all worth it if only for that one saving grace of leading me into a life with my wife and children and experiences that made me a better man, step dad and husband.
Our lives aren't just measured by our achievements, often our achievements owe a debt to our failures, our joys owe something to our tradgedies.
I've often thought of the external uncontrollable factors in life being like the hand of God. Shaping us like a gardener pruning a plant into what he knows it can and should become and though it might not make sense initially when you fall into the place your whole life has led up to, you will understand and may even be grateful.
All our pain I think served a purpose it reminds me of Viktor Frankl saying that if you give someone a reason for their pain the can handle nearly anything imaginable and considering this wisdom came from a man who survived auchwitz I'd say it was him speaking from experience. And it's worthy of consideration.
Our lives are a fraction of eternity but it is also of critical importance.
