The H/G Hug

A chat with Jenni is like a turkey dinner - warm, nourishing, and most likely accompanied by thanksgiving. (They're also alike because you wouldn't want your inebriated uncle showing up for either of them.) In college, Jenni and I shared a learning curve that brought us away from dating-induced self pity and toward acceptance of how God was refining us through our struggles. We used the phrase "hard but good" to describe our challenges so often that it became like a rallying cry in our battle for character.

Looking back on the last month and its new experiences, I realize how the lesson lingers.

It was hard but good to tell my grandma "goodbye" after her 90th birthday, and for the first time to really mean, "goodbye forever, maybe."

It was hard but good to be honest with my professor for the first time, holding him accountable to his responsibilities as a teacher.

It was hard but good to leave my prodigal brother a message that for the first time betrayed vulnerability in response to his rejection.

It was hard but good to fret for the first time about my husband's success while he studied for his exam, and as never before to release that worry in the face of helplessness.

I know that the grand scheme of God's work didn't begin and won't end within the confines of my life. But there is something exceptionally genius about the way He sifts through the mess I offer and arranges the pieces to help make sense of it all: creation, the church, and even little Bethany.

Thanks for helping me remember and be thankful, Jenni.



HORSE prompt: If life were a multiple choice test, what would be the first five questions on yours? Write the questions and their multiple choice answers.