So much tragedy.

Yesterday I attended a breakfast hosted by "Men For Change" in association with United Family Services. Both organizations work to bring awareness to domestic abuse/violence and to offer support to those who have been victims. This was a powerful event! The keynote speaker was Sheri Lynch of "The Bob and Sheri Show." Now I had heard of Sheri and, once in a while, I have tuned in to her show but I didn't know her story. Sheri grew up in an abusive home with an abusive father. She experienced horrible things that truly devastated her childhood. But that isn't how her story ends. Not only has she used that pain to propel her life in a new direction, she is a voice for others who have gone through or are currently in abusive situations.

What do we do when things go bad? What do we do when we hit rock bottom? What do we do when horrible things have happened to us that were out of our control? In these situations it is crucially important to remember that, when life is at its worst, God is at his best. Every time we turn on the TV or read the newspaper or head to a news website we are bombarded with tragedy. Murder, tornados, floods, earthquakes, unemployment, budget cuts, war, violence, etc., all of these things are flung at us without pause; but, just as quickly as they become headlines, they are forgotten and the next catastrophe is hurled at us. We never get to hear the rest of the story. We never get to hear how these towns rebuild or how strangers came to the aid of someone they had never met. We never hear about the addict who finds the strength to rebuild their lives and then dedicates everything they have to help others who are battling the same demons. We hear about Good Friday a lot but we don't always hear about Easter.

Everyone has struggles, bad things happen, but we don't stay there. God is still working in that pain and struggle and when we get out of that pit we have the opportunity to share our story of hope with others. To remind them that life won’t always be that way and maybe we have the chance to make life better for someone else. This is doing God's work.

See you in church,

Chris