let me just say this...

In a phone call with my mom, I had an epiphany. In all this that is going on with my family right now, I have never questioned God one time. My faith in him is as strong or stronger as it ever has been. He truly TRULY is my rock.

But I will say, in all this, it really has made me question the church. Strongly. Some of the actions of a few "Christians" following the separation of my parents has completely amazed me. I wrote a few posts back that...

...when bad things happen around non-Christians, from my observations, they tend to acknowledge the situation for what it is. They aren't afraid to "feel their feelings", as I like to call it. If they're angry, then they are...When bad things happen around Christians, I feel like they do damage control. For example, if someone gets separated from their husband, the non-Christian would sit around and play Independence Day by Martina McBride, eat ice cream and just laugh/cry as the emotion in the situation changed. A Christian would respond by immediately trying to get the two back together, regardless of what that takes and regardless of the issues that are within the marriage.

I went on to discuss why there is that compulsion to do damage control...what that view of God must be...and then I talked about this:

If God is in control and people are living in "His will", then everything will be in line. If everything is in line, then it will look this way or that way. If pastors' wives leave their husbands because their pastor husbands are being emotionally and verbally abusive to their family, then what does that do to their perception of God? Instead of working to truly allow the family to heal, they do damage control. They cannot look into the face of a God who would allow a Pastor's family to undergo such pain. The problem is that we live in a world of pain. It comes to each of us in different ways. As Christians, we are not exempt from this. The only thing we are guaranteed is that God is in control and with us, regardless of the situation. I'm not quite sure where Christians get the idea that nothing bad is going to happen to them, or should happen to them, but it is not Biblically supported.

I was checking The Pastor's blog and I feel like this recent post he made really ties in to what I'm trying to convey.

But, what of the suffering we experience that is not a result of our faith? What about the sickness and the loss of loved ones and job losses and the relational pain we have experienced as a church this past year? Does that not count as real suffering in our relationship with the Lord? As I have said several times, if that is true, throw the book of Job out the window! The level of suffering that has visited us this year has led our elders to believe that we have been called to suffer as a church, and we also believe that suffering has been brought upon us in order to increase our intimacy with Jesus.

But let’s face it, all humanity experiences some of the difficulties we have encountered this past year. Suffering, after all, is a universal experience. Groaning is a universal language.

He went on to say:

Linda and I had just begun really enjoying our empty nest years when her tumor changed everything. The last few years we have been planning our retirement, serving the Lord in Europe or in Asia while teaching English as a Second Language. Those plans are in serious jeopardy. “But, those were godly plans, spiritual plans!”

Lastly...

Everything that happens to us is part of God’s grand design, and don’t go trying to figure His design out, just trust Him. It does not mean that there is no pain – we suffer, for sure, but we can trust that God is not only working for His glory, but also for our good.

ALL humanity experiences suffering. The Christian and the non-Christian. We are ALL on the same playing field. Groaning IS a universal language. Even plans that seem to be laid out as godly or spiritual can be gone in an instant. It's not that these things were not good, it's that God has a different plan sometimes than what we plan for ourselves. Is this bad? No. Does this mean that there will be no pain? No. It means that we must trust him for these answers. As Christians, to come in to save the day with a plan that puts those suffering back on the "right track" is completely ridiculous to me.

First of all, it implies that those suffering are not in the complete middle of God's will. Second of all, it implies that someone ELSE can interpret and know God's will for the person suffering. Both of these things are ridiculous to me, that's the only word I can think of. I think that the true meaning of verses like Galatians 6:2 are to say that in this life we ALL are going to suffer. Christian, non-Christian, whatever...we're all going to suffer in this life. No one knows the direct reason, and anyone assuming that they do is completely off base and out of line. And, the next logical step is that if you don't know why, then you can't fix it. If a doctor doesn't know why someone is sick, they can't just start perscribing medicine or else it might kill someone. Only the person who completely knows the sickness can make it better. So, Christians coming in with their "Here to Save the Day" plans is completely out of line. We should just bear with one another, as we are called to do.
Uphold, remain firm, and be patient with one another.

As Job told his friends in chapter 13,

What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

All I have to say is, oh snap.

Job, blamless before God, endured suffering that I cannot even fathom. But his friends were quick to share the magical plan...if only he were to search his heart to find why God is punishing him, that will end his suffering. But there was no reason. There was no thing that God was punishing Job for. He was right in telling his friends, "I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you."

All we are called to do is bear with each other. And these days, I'm not seeing it from those I should be seeing it from.