This is not intended to be a blog about death, dying, and grief. It’s supposed to be about life. I love life; hence, my tagline: “Observations from a life lover.” But I’ve learned that death is a part of this present life.

The view that I have of life after having lived a half century is not quite as rosy as the one with which I began. Things are not so neatly tied up with a bow. There are lots of loose ends. Life is messy.

Life is hard. In fact, it’s downright brutal at times!

Bad stuff happens. Sad stuff happens. Sometimes it’s a result of our own selfish decisions made outside of God’s will, sometimes it’s a result of simply not knowing better, sometimes our lives are affected by another’s actions, sometimes it’s an outright attack of the evil one, and sometimes it’s the result of living in a fallen, decaying world.

BUT GOD. (Here comes the good part. Because God IS good.)

God is the All-Sufficient One. I’m talking about Jehovah God, the Almighty One True God. The One who sent His son Jesus to wipe away our sin along with the resulting pain, shame, and guilt. Stuff happens! Jesus said it would! He said, “In this world you will have troubles, but be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world!” When we invite this world overcomer into our lives (first, into our hearts; then, into every fabric of our lives)–we will be MORE than conquerors! He always provides a way of escape. He is always a very present help in time of trouble. He always walks WITH us through the valley of the shadow of death. He always provides a way out of every temptation. He is, quite simply, the ANSWER.

I don’t have all the answers, but I know Jesus–THE Truth, THE Life, THE Way. He doesn’t offer pat answers. He offers Himself.

And He is enough. He is MORE than enough.

When the crap comes, He is available in so many ways: as peace, comfort, wisdom–in fact, whatever is needed for the situation. Because He is enough, and more.

I prefer to understand everything. I prefer to have everything wrapped in a neat package. But quite frankly, it ain’t gonna happen (in this life). No matter. REALLY. No matter. I release that need to know all and understand all. That’s called trust. It sounds so simple. It’s not. But when I do it, when I decide to trust Him, OH! Well! He does marvelous things and makes the messy into a message. Thank You, Lord!