Inseparable!

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Romans 8:38-39

Ever had situations where you wondered if God even remembered your existence?  Ever felt so alone that you thought even God had abandoned you?  I have.  I admit it, I even yelled at God for leaving me to face the torments of life alone!  Even saying something to the effect of, "YOU claim that You love me!  YOU said You would be with me always!  YOU claimed that You would never leave me or turn Your back on me!  Okay Big Boy.....WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?"

To my surprise, and annoyance, within my soul I heard God chuckle. Not in a mocking way, but the way my Grampa used to chuckle when I would tell him about my day.  It was the chuckle of infinite love.  

In THAT moment, my mind played the conversation: 

     God: "What's got you all riled up?"

     

     Me: "Can't YOU see all that I'm having to deal with?"

     God: "Yeah....I can see it.  I also can see how everything will play out.  I can also see how this will be helpful later on."

     Me: "Hang on!  If that's true, then WHY not skip to the 'helpful' part?"

     God: "Because you have to learn to trust Me through this so you can use this experience to help someone else later."

     Me: "On REALLY!  Who will I help with this chaos pulling my life apart now?"

     God: "First, let Me take care of the details.  Second, trust Me especially with the painful parts.  Third, remember that I love you.  Finally, stop trying to do MY job."

Here's what I learned through that absolute crushing period of life....God REALLY does know what He's doing.  Through the darkest and most painful parts of life, God's plan is working.  He's always, always, ALWAYS with us, loving us, caring for and about us, and, believe it or not, God is ALWAYS protecting us.