08/19/2022
New Lessons in Humility: We Are Not In Control
A few weeks ago we posted on social media that we would be back on Aug 17. After creating that post, life got crazier than it had been up to that point which had already led to a lengthy pause in video content.
We intended to send an email saying the same thing, but life curved hard. Since that post, we lost a loved one. We have had a few weeks to recover and had still planned on meeting the August 17 promise, but our admin staff person lost 2 family members in the same week. The Faith in Five staff has suffered some significant losses and aren't back to work yet. We are fine, but we are not at our best.
Since I don't have a video to post, I thought I would share some thoughts from the eulogy I had the honor to deliver at my Father In-law's Memorial service.
"In times like these, I always rest in the fact that we, as humans, are ultimately not in control. As we reflect on the cycle of life and celebrate [a loved one's] life today, consider these words from Acts…
Acts 17:26-27 NIV
From one man God made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
When someone’s life comes to an end, we can take comfort in the fact that it does not take God by surprise. Today, take comfort in knowing that God is in control. He has a plan for this world and he invites us to be coauthors in our portion of the script."
I know we are not the only ones with tough stuff in our lives. One benefit of a difficult past 3 years is that we aren't pretending to be okay anymore. When we celebrate great joy and sit in great sorrow, our lives align more with the Bible than when we pretend to have it all figured out. We aren't pawns in some mastermind's scheme, but we are also not important or powerful enough to control everything as we would wish. God seems to have invited us to engage with him somewhere in between.
In these past few months, I have been humbled. I don't accept or advocate for mediocrity, but I do want to spend more time embracing my humanity so that I can life a more authentic life.
