These Hard Times

"Say goodbye, these days have gone
And we can't keep holding on
When all we need is some relief
Through these hard times"
~Matchbox Twenty

I cannot even begin to understand why some things happen.  Little Maddy was 4 years old and spent most of his life fighting for it.  He passed away two days ago, on Jan 8th, 2014.  I cannot imagine what his sweet parents are going through.  I fall apart every time I try to comprehend what they are dealing with and wonder how in the world they will move forward from this.  Nothing on this earth could repair my heart.  And that is exactly the point.  

Childhood cancer is probably the most awful thing.  Children dying and parents having to bury their children seems to me to be the worst thing for a person to have to endure.  It has always been my biggest fear. But of course there is tragedy all around us.  Unexplainable sadness, loss, injustices and grief touches all of us.  "Why?" is often the biggest question that people ask during these times.  What in the world could be the reason for ending the life of a sweet 4 year old boy and breaking his family's heart forever?  

On the day that Maddy passed away, my devotional addressed difficult times.  

"When times get difficult, we often seek 

God for the easy way out.  Easy means that 

someone waves a wand and poof, 

it's done, fixed, no more trouble."

It goes on to say that we pray for the "fix" but God doesn't always give us the easy way out.  Not because He can't perform the miracle, but because he knows best what we need.  The solution to our troubles may not be easy, and certainly in some situations not at all what we would want to happen, but we need to remember that God is in control.  I cannot comprehend why this happened to Maddy and his family, but there simply has to be some reason.  Some higher purpose.  God has a divine plan.  

The devotional ends with this prayer:

"Dear Lord, please help me to rest assured 

that You are going before me and that when 

I call on You, You will help me.  Thank You for 

growing me during these hard times."