Despair, Hope and Heaven

The crystal clear skies and the glorious weather gives more opportunity and motivation for collecting my thoughts and writing about the experience of traveling down the road of deep sadness.  This evening I took a typical walk at sunset, but there was an extra bounce in my step as I was struck by the reality of such incredible beauty in the midst of horrid and incomprehensible sights and experiences.   So much of what I've seen in the recent months has left me completely dumbfounded.  Three months ago, I rode on a bus in Zambia and stared out the window in stunned and profoundly sad silence.  We drove away from a compound where we met hundreds of the most BEAUTIFUL children who go without food, water, warmth, beds and parental care each day.  How do you make sense of that?  Two months ago, I watched my father take his final breaths and leave this world just a few weeks after climbing to the peak of a mountain with him.  As Dad completed his last climb, he cheered on the other hikers and he was at the top of his game.   It didn't seem possible for him to be unconscious and unable to order us around as we tried to grasp the enormity of losing him before our eyes.  As the fog of a "grin and bear it season" clears, writing seems to be a way to make sense of seemingly senseless circumstances.  Since the teen years, my faith has been an anchor and my love affair with this world ended when I became a Christian 25 years ago.  Still, this abiding faith takes on a whole new light as I increasingly despair of the brokenness of the world.  While enjoying the glory of a picture perfect night, I was reminded of the reality and hope of our permanent home in heaven where there is no death, sadness, hunger or destruction.   Such a brief glimpse of eternity lifts my eyes off of present sorrow and encourages my soul greatly!