A few weeks ago, I was working at a local coffee shop, when I looked up and saw a mom and her son at a table next to the window. The boy was playfully gazing out the window, smiling and cracking jokes to himself. He couldn’t have been more than seven years old.
Mom was tired. Bags under her eyes. She wasn’t at Starbucks just to hang out. That caffeine was helping her hang on. Her facial expression told a story. I couldn’t tell you the specifics, but the obvious subplot was clear.
Life has dealt her a tough hand and her son had no clue.
I don’t know about you, but when I was this boy’s age, I didn’t have a clue that there were problems in the world. I only knew that sometimes, you get in trouble for acting up. You don’t get dessert unless you eat your vegetables. And you go to church on Sunday. Other than that, life was a breeze.
I count myself fortunate to have had parents that didn’t allow me to know everything that was going on. Surely, there were financial problems, relational tensions, and health issues. But I didn’t have a clue.
As I watched this boy look back at his mom with a huge smile on his face, I could see that this is one of those situations. The weight of the world is on her shoulders, and he’s light as a feather.
And that’s the way it should be.
But as we grow up, we learn, don’t we? We begin to learn that freedom comes with a price. We experience the hardship that is associated with a broken world. We feel the sting of loss and moments where it seems like there’s no hope.
This is why you thought your parents were weird. You weren’t fully aware of the weight on their shoulders. And you shouldn’t have. But we learn that the real world is full of suffering.
So what do you do when there’s no hope? When you’ve exhausted your resources and you honestly believe there’s nowhere else to turn? Maybe you’ve “tried God.” Many of us have. If you had a bad experience with the church, there’s a good chance that you gave up on God.
Maybe you’re all too familiar with the struggles of life. “How could there be a God?” you’ve asked, pleaded. You shook your fist at the sky.
I have, too. Recently.
And I don’t have all the answers for what you’re going through. But I know this. Our God is strong and loving. And He is not absent; nor is He unaware.
He is near to the broken-hearted. He hears the cries of His people. Call out to Him today!