There is a Season Under Heaven

Two weeks ago, in the span of forty-eight hours, one of my girlfriends gave birth to a healthy baby girl while another girlfriend tragically lost her baby girl to a miscarriage. Both women are precious daughters of the Lord.

During Christmas break, my daughter, a violist, broke her elbow and required surgery to pin the chipped bone back into place. She couldn’t play her viola for five weeks, but has since regained full use and movement of her arm. Meanwhile, in late February/early March, a family friend fell on a patch of ice and hurt his elbow, which resulted in a staph infection and has since grown into some kind of rare complication in which his entire arm is in constant, excruciating pain and he can no longer move his hand. He and his wife have recently traveled to another state for specific, focused care and rehabilitation; they’ll be gone for the entire summer. Both my daughter and our family friend are precious children of the Lord.

In September 2022, my husband stepped away from a government job that had become toxic. Despite his intelligence, capabilities, and experiences, he has yet to gain employment elsewhere, and monies I had thought we’d be able to use for investment opportunities have dwindled away to pay our monthly expenses. Meanwhile, another family friend who had lost his job has since found a new one. My husband and this friend are both precious sons of the Lord.

I share these stories because there is a narrative among some circles within and without the American Church that once we become Christians, pain and suffering are supposed to cease. That we shall know only health, wealth, and happiness. And certainly, because our country was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles and following the “straight and narrow” has, in past decades, resulted in societal successes, we now assume such success is owed to us simply by going to church, saying our prayers, and verbally professing a faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet the accounts in the Bible—and our actual life experiences—prove otherwise. These past several months have been a good reminder that we do not follow the Lord because of what He will give us, or how He will bless us, or from what He will spare us. We follow Him because He is Life. He is Love. He is holy and gracious and just and good. He is good when our lives fall apart. He is good when our lives are pieced together. He is good when we are healthy, and He is good when our bodies are riddled in pain. He is good no matter the state of our bank accounts or the state of our nation.

And for us writers specifically, He is good whether we see publication several times over or our stories end up being for our eyes alone despite the desperate yearning in our hearts for a different outcome.

Our purpose in life is not to accumulate wealth, or status, or success, or fame. It’s not to grow an online platform or become some “influencer” or churn out as many books as possible to amass followers and accolades. It’s not to get our children into the best sports camps or into top-notch schools or give them material goods. It’s not even to be happy (although because of our nation’s foundations, we have the privilege to pursue it). Our purpose is to know God and become more like Jesus every day. Our purpose is to glorify Him no matter our circumstances. A Christian’s Home is not here in this sin-wrecked world but rather it’s with Jesus, spending eternity in the Lord’s presence. Our earthly lives are simply the prequel to the rest of our story with God.

Will there be tears while we wait to go Home? Yes. Angst and worries? Absolutely—even though the Lord has given us specific commands on that front. Will there be pain? Suffering? Loss? Yes. And there will be joy, fulfillment, laughter, and dancing. We will know the full range of emotions in this life, some better than others. But the Lord is good and faithful through it all, and He promises that He will eventually work everything out for the good of those who love Him. That doesn’t mean we get what we want in the end; it means we become more like Him, and as we become more like Him, our desires change, our perspectives change, our motivations change. We mature, and with the blessing of time and distance, most of us will be able to look back and nod and say, “I see now how it all came together. It didn’t make sense at the time, but I get it now.”

Why did one daughter of the King lose her baby, yet another welcomed a healthy newborn? Why did my daughter regain full use of her arm while a brother-in-Christ currently experiences partial paralysis and unimaginable pain? Why has my husband been met with closed doors, yet a friend was able to walk through an open one?

I don’t know. It’s not for me to know right now. Some things I’ll never know, even with the passage of time. It’s enough for me to know that God. Is. Good. And He is trustworthy and faithful, and as for me and my family, we will continue to praise the Lord regardless of our circumstances.

As for us writers, let’s praise the Lord for our publication successes and praise Him while reading those rejection letters. Let’s praise Him for the new reader who found us and praise Him for the thousands of words on our laptops that will never be read by anyone else.

For He is good and is worthy of praise. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21b NIV