Protection

A former business associate sent me a link to his niece's blog.  Tara was diagnosed with a brain tumor the day she picked up her wedding invitations.  Instead of addressing invitations that night, the family prayed and discussed the proposed surgery.  Tara recovered from surgery so quickly that she was able to be married on the date they had initially planned to be married.  Her blog link is on my sidebar if you want to read her story.  You'll have to go back to May and June 2010 to read about the diagnosis and wedding.

Not long ago Tara shared part of a letter from a missionary friend.  This young sister shared some thoughts that helped Tara, but I thought they might help each of us, as well.  The missionary said:

"Do you know the hymn "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me?"  Think of it like this.  The waves He is piloting are the trials that are saving us from harder things - the ROCKS...They are a protection against the rocks that are under the surface.  I had never thought about that before... that God may give us trials to protect us from some form of even greater destruction. How lucky we are to have trials that can stretch us and make us grow."

So here is my translation of what I understood:

Think of yourself as steering a boat on the ocean water.  Each of our vessels will rise and fall with the waves.  In life we call these hills and valleys "challenges" or "trials."  We often assume that those highs and lows are random and have no real purpose, except to "help us grow".  But what if the Lord, who controls all things, actually sends us challenges to protect us?  Maybe by lifting us high on the water, we are somehow avoiding something dangerous below.  I had never thought of my challenges as a form of protection, but I am intrigued by the idea.  Do I struggle with a situation because the Lord wants me to avoid a different situation that I might encounter if left to myself?  And if I gain the ability to trust His completely, will the highs and lows become easier to handle?

I know that the Lord is there for us.  I often struggle to figure out why He is sending me the situations I have in my life.  Sometimes I think I am incredibly dense because I don't see His purposes.  But perhaps I am just looking at things in the wrong light.  It is definitely something to ponder.