essay questions

I had every intention of uploading a bazillion pictures from the past week and a half, but that will have to wait because I don't want to take the time to upload them off my camera yet.

But I am home, safely, for those who were wondering. And I am blessed, incredibly, for those who didn't know it. And change is inevitable, for those who haven't figured that out yet.

And so, to run with that theme of change, I want to share a thought for a moment.

I have found that my life is a series of multiple choice question exams, with a few essay questions at the end of it all. God brings circumstances, people, decisions, change, heartbreak, blessings, grief, friendship, trials, frustrations, and moments of joy and peace... sometimes in combination, sometimes for long periods of time, and always at the perfect time.

He is faithful. He answers prayer. He listens to His children and desires good things for us. But He isn't a god of handouts. He has already given us the greatest gift freely at our will to take, because He is our father and loves us. But on a day-to-day basis, obedience and trust must be the building blocks of our faith. And loving Him above all others settles the mortar in between all the cracks and creases to solidify our relationship with our Father.

And I brag because I see His hand moving. And as He brings those different things to us in our life, He knows exactly what we are capable of handling, and he gently guides us through as we fumble and trip, worry and whine, hesitate and get distracted. He allows us imperfection as we grow in our understanding of Him [the price is already paid for the imperfections anyway]. And through our failures we see how great His love really is.

As we fill in the little circles of those questions, hoping they are the right answers, hoping we're doing the right thing. He smiles as he takes the papers back, correcting and praising, encouraging and teaching... helping us improve. Not because He wants us to be the teacher. But that we'll be good students that reflect the teacher.

And at the end of the page come the essay questions... There is no perfect answer, it's all a matter of the heart. He doesn't look for the right form, He looks for the right thoughts.
Even when we screw up and fail miserably. He brings us to the front desk, holding the papers full of red marks with the glaring "F" on the top, hands it back to us and says, "try again, I'm not giving up on you. I know you can do better. And I won't fail you."

"I won't fail you."

Praise God for that.