Beyond the Pits

Life is hard. We all know that.

Well-made plans get tossed aside by unexpected circumstances.

Perfectly good days are ruined by horribly bad news.

Otherwise happy lives become saddened by harsh reality.

In the end, a bowl of cherries leaves us with the pits.

And that's life. Right?

As adults we have come to expect the unexpected, and learned to deal with the disappointments. Sometimes things don't work out the way we'd hoped they would. You can't always have what you want. I've heard and said that line more times than I can count...
So in recent days when my son has been faced with the harsh reality of needing a new transmission and rear brakes for his Jeep - which means he owes his parents more money, and he can't buy the fishing gear he'd like - my knee-jerk reaction is to say something akin to,
"Welcome to adulthood, kiddo. That's life!"
But I've been thinking about my words and what kind of mark they're making. And I decided I really don't want to paint a gloomy picture for my son. (For anyone!) I have spent time despairing through my days, and God gave me hope in the midst of them.
Why would I pass on anything but hope to anyone else???
So, a couple days ago when Josh got up early to work for some friends to earn a little extra money, I sent him this text:

I know you're frustrated about your Jeep. And you'd rather be fishing than working. Not sure how God intends to grow you through this difficulty but I trust He will. And I pray He'll draw you close to Himself through it all.
I love you!

I know my words won't solve his problems.
He still has bills to pay, work to do, and fishing equipment to do without.
But if I can welcome my son into adulthood by helping him learn to seek God and trust that He's working good things - even when our circumstances scream otherwise - I will consider my job done.