LIMBO

I remember doing the limbo as a little kid...ok fine even as college student, who doesn't love playing LIMBO! How low can you go...how low can you go...how low can you go.
I never realized something that could be so much fun as a younger person would be such a PAIN as an adult.

I am no longer talking about the game LIMBO but the permanent state of being in LIMBO that my life has seemed to be in for the past 10+months! These are the questions over the past 10 months that have guided our lives.
It all started with deciding to sell our house. Are we gonna? What do we have to do to it? How much do we sell it for? Where are we gonna move? How much can we afford? Are we gonna move into my grandma's house? How long will we live there? Do we want to move before our next son is born or after? Can we qualify for a loan? Should Beck cut back to part time? Can we afford it if she does? Not to mention that for the past couple of months there has been this recurring limbo period with regard to my mom's cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Beck said to me the other day that her faith is uncomparable to what it was last year at this time. Because of all the things that have gone on in our lives and all the ways each time something new comes our way God acts in ways only He can to continue to prove to us that He cares for us, is watching out for us, loves us and is faithful. Have the times been easy? NO! They have been very hard! I lost my grandma, we moved out of our first house, bills have been REALLY tight, we unexpectedly got pregnant, we are in a transitional house that doesn't really feel like home, my mom was diagnosed with cancer...

James is one of my favorite books of the Bible and so my mind often goes to his book and I am reminded that in the very first few verses of the very first chapter James tells his readers "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".

The message version reads: Consider it as a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get ot of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the father. He loves to help. You'll get His help..."

We have received His help in almost countless ways...and those are just the ways where we see what He has done.
So, if I am going to believe James, and I do believe James, then all this stuff is to benefit me. It is to build my perseverance. It is part of the sanctification process that God has me (and Beck) going through for whatever reason(s).
I sure would love to know the reason(s), but I don't have to because I believe that, as I said above, God cares for us, is watching out for us, loves us and is faithful.

I hope you know the same God I do. Follow Him. Hang on for the ride. Be faithful to Him as He will always be faithful to you!