Ouch!!

I'm experiencing a nasty new emotion as a parent. It's a combination of frustration, anger, helplessness, shock and stress. This feeling was elicited by seeing my children struggling and experiencing hurt and pain in an area of their lives. I realize that some of this is a natural part of growing up, and they need to walk this road and grow through it! However, that does not make me OK with it at all!! I just want to start rectifying the situation immediately---whatever it takes to protect my girls from disappointment and hurt. I'm sure as they grow older, more pain will come to them, and I'm NOT cool with that prospect.

Sometimes when I experience pain and disappointment in my life, it can feel like God is far away. Since He uses the term "Father" to describe His relationship to me, however, I'm betting He is experiencing something like what I'm feeling now for my girls, but on an exponentially larger scale. As I think about the pain that people around the world experience every day due to the lure of sin brought on by Satan's schemes, it's beyond comprehension. Creation is truly groaning in agony and begging for release! The only thing staying the hand of God from swooping in to fix everything is His grace. He waits so that more people can come into relationship with Him through Jesus and pass from death to LIFE.

One day Jesus will return and balance the scales of inequity. He will right the wrongs, judge the guilty and reward the faithful. Until then, I'm going to provide all the love and protection I possibly can for my girls, and do everything I can to help more people become fully devoted followers of Jesus.