A Note to the All the Grinches Out There:
Where you are meant to be, and where you are, may not be the same place, and that’s okay.
If someone tells me that I am where I am supposed to be one more time, I just might punch them. Yes, I am where I should be, and I believe that I am doing exactly what I should be doing. But, I know that I am not yet where I am meant to be.
This is the tension of living in a broken world: things are not as they should be. Sickness is not something that should be a part of our world, but in this season, it happens to be a larger part of our world than most of us have ever experienced. Poverty and prejudice are not something that should be in the world, but they are with us nonetheless. Our dreams and our goals are delayed by tragedies that should not occur, inconveniences that are insensible, and losses that are maddening. And in it all, that’s okay.
It’s okay, because everyone experiences it. But what if––just, what if, perhaps, where we are during times of difficulty are not really the places where we are meant to be. What if our zone of isolation is a temporary disengagement from where we are truly meant to be?
This may sound a bit depressing, but I want to suggest that it is far less depressing that to believe that I am exactly where I am meant to be, when things just plain suck. No, please don’t ever tell me that I am exactly where I am meant to be, when things are tough. I will think that you are a jerk, because I know better. Where I am, may be necessary for the moment, but it is not the place I am truly meant to be. I still hope for that place and that time, and I know that it is a better thing than where I am right now.
Yes, I will admit, I am a bit of a Grinch this Christmas. But, to all the Grinches like me, please know. Where you are right now, is not necessarily where you are meant to be. There is a better place for us all, and it is out there somewhere. Find it in your dreams. Find it in your hopes, and hold on to it dearly. It is a far better thing to hope, than to believe you are destined for the difficulties you are living through now.
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8:24-25
Burning Religion 