I snagged a glorious 20 minutes on the phone with a dear friend yesterday, while she chewed on a Costco dog and I inhaled a Subway flatbread pizza. The cuisine of busy working moms.
We talked about our broken mommas—hers with more busted ribs than a person can count on one hand, thanks to a head-on, and mine with a bed that’s cold on one side now.
It hurts so much and is so good, I said.
I know, she said. And she really knows.
She said how most folks want to hurry up through difficulty because it hurts so much, but those of us who know Christ walk through it nice ‘n’ slow.
We know Jesus came to pull us out of darkness and to present us blameless, as His bride, before the living God. Me and this sister have come to terms with the fact that the only way between the point of rescue and the point of heaven is through sorrow and trial.
Compression.
God letting the hard stuff push in, both walls at a time, to press out the sin and knead in the good.
“To him who is able to … present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude 24, NIV).
He is able to present us blameless, if we are willing to go through the process.
The question that needs immediate answer is this: Do we want to be comfortable right this second more than we want to become pure and spotless?
A word to this friend of mine: How precious it is to have a bestie who says, “Yes, this pain is wonderful.” How valuable the friend who knows God is using all of this hardship to shape us into something perfect.
So, don’t rush your hard time (or anyone else’s, for that matter).
Give full attention to every lesson being taught, every nuance of influence God is working in that heart of yours. Tiptoe through experiencing the magnificence of God when you are in the worst spot.
It’s hard, but it’s good.
Christy Fitzwater is the author of A Study of Psalm 25: Seven Actions to Take When Life Gets Hard. She is a blogger, pastor’s wife and mom of two teenagers and resides in Montana. Visit ChristyFitzwater.com for more information about her ministry.
