Of Things to Come

Sometimes it feels like we are actually in a movie, and one scene ends as the words “Three years later” come across the screen. 3 years. So much happened in 3 years time, and so much has changed. If you’ve followed our story very long, you’ll know that in November of 2020, I hit what was either a very large deer or an elk coming home from Parent Teacher Conferences one evening. If my life was a novel, this car accident would be a foreshadow to the one to come just over a month later. You can read about that accident here: https://talesfromnorthcountry.com/2021/01/01/a-christmas-to-remember/

Most of the time, I’m ok. Then memories pop up, whether on Social Media, or just something that I see and everything comes rushing back. A lot has happened in 3 years time, and a lot happened even before either of the accidents. There are moments when it hits me just how much we’ve been through, and for a moment, I’m not ok.

Sometimes I think God lets things come in waves, the reality of what we’ve been through. Because if He didn’t, what would hit us would knock us off our feet and leave us laying flat on our backs. But instead, it comes in waves. One moment, I’m fine, and the next, it’s a like a wave hits me and the emotions that come with it begin to rise up. Slowly it goes back down, until eventually another wave comes along and I feel the anxiety, fear and sadness returning, if only for a brief moment.

In those moments, I cling even more to my faith. It was our faith got us through each of the accidents, and all of the many struggles we faced before and after. I don’t expect everyone to understand that. I’ve had a strong Christian faith since I was young, and I know not everyone will get it.

In those hard moments, I find myself trying to go back to the good. I often go back to what Samwise told Frodo. There’s still some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for. Some days, when the waves are hitting back-to-back and it feels like a storm on the horizon, it’s really hard to find the good, but if I look hard enough, it’s still there.

Sometimes, it’s a butterfly landing gently on a flower, or a flock of geese making their fall voyage south. It’s a breath of fresh air on a crisp fall morning, and an afternoon hike through the autumn woods. It’s someone opening the door for another, someone else providing what they can for someone who has very little. It’s a smile and a greeting to a stranger, and lending a helping hand to your enemy. Goodness is still all around us, even in the darkest of moments, and it’s worth fighting for.

The past few years have been rough. Not only in our personal lives, but in the world around us. Sometimes it feels like chaos. Sometimes it feels like the end could never truly be happy, not when so much has gone wrong. And yet these moments are truly only passing moments in time. Temporary. This too shall pass.

And what is to come, what lies beyond this life, is so much greater than anything we could even imagine. The goodness we see here is but a mere reflection of the things to come. And that, my friends, is truly what is worth fighting for.

Until next time,

Cindy