Chapters...

I saw this quote on Facebook today...

"Everyone has a chapter they don't want to read out loud..."
(It was attributed to Toby Mac, but the internet is filled with misquotes so I'm not 100% certain)

It got me thinking. I have some of those chapters. Maybe I don't want to read them out loud, but more and more I want to write it all down. Every chapter, every paragraph of my life was part of creating the person you know today. Pain as well as joy. Created by God, but shaped and formed by what I experienced in this world. Yes, He's there to help, but he doesn't always shield us from the blows, the cruelty, the abuse.

We walk through life and all it's experiences. Our hope is in knowing we are always loved by our Creator. He knows our pain. He knows we grow from our experiences, so He does not keep us in safe, controlled hot houses. Some flourish, no matter what they are put through. Some are destroyed, unable to understand why He left them hanging. Perhaps I am somewhere in the middle, not destroyed but not always victorious. I'm human. I fail. I hurt. I rejoice. I overcome. I'm alive. I am His in all my chapters, in all my various hues.

© 27Jul2016 ajj