When we face opposition in life, especially from the unexpected, it is natural either to throw up our hands and say, “I don’t know how to get through this,” or to rant, fight, and flail like mad which often gets us nowhere … except more upset and ineffective. Just standing up and hanging on can take courage. Jesus told his disciples that the future would be difficult – that truly to follow him, they would be asked to lay down their spiritual lives of preconception, and quite possibly their physical lives as well. To take up a cross instead. Those preconceptions about what the disciples expected him to be were real obstacles to the living out of the gospel.
Our preconceptions, fear of the unknown, and illusions of control are our obstacles. While we may feel like we’ll do a complete face plant over the oppositional forces before us, in reality the resistance of opposition can cause us to grow – in imagination, in faith, in wisdom, creativity and humility. We will never be the same, and God is part of that. We need our communities, but there are some things that only you can do as an individual. Take your next breath. Take your next step. Shed your tears. Smile your smile wherever possible. Hold onto your best memories and the truth that you are beloved
Find a way through. Stand tall and hang on — Pastor Carol
