United For The War

   Recently, we had visitors from the States here. We had a fantastic time and a multitude of new experiences, stories that will be told forever.
   
   It felt like they were here for much longer than the week and a half they joined us in ministry here, and we were very recharged and energized by their visit, but, now that they're gone, each member of our family, in their own way, is coping with the hole they left here.

   It is quiet, and we try to put on a happy face for eachother and others, but everyone of us is sad.

   It's a hard life here. It is. I don't think any of us prepared ourselves for how difficult it would be. I don't think any of us could have really known, either. It's so rewarding, yet so hard. There is so much need here. And there isn't always a happy ending to the sad, sad stories we see everyday.

   We'd like to think so wouldn't we? That there's always a happy ending? But there isn't. Not always.

   No, there are few true "happy endings" to the millions of life stories in this world. Some are good, yes, but many are horrific and grief-filled. There is however in this world, hope. Individually, not many lives end as well as we would like, but, in the end, each story will weave together into a beautiful tapestry of hope. And that hope is Christ Jesus. As long as we welcome him into our heart, we have hope.
   
Just last night, we were discussing how God allows satan to win some battles on this earth. But Heaven wins the war. Always.

    Yes, each of us is fighting individually the battles satan tries so hard to win. Right now, in our family, the battle is against feeling unfit for the work here, becoming bitter, feeling we shouldn't be here right now, when it's obvious we have to be.

   We're fighting individually the battles set before us, but as a family, and on a larger scale, the body of Christ, we are united for the war. We are soldiers in God's army, recruiting others as we go along in this life, fighting against the fiery arrows of the devil.

   And, no matter how hard it is here, or anywhere, we can be assured, no matter what, that Heaven wins.