Things are not the way they should be

Things have been a little rough lately, and I have found myself continually thinking, “This is not how things should be.” It’s not even things that are happening to me — they’re happening to others. I have some friends who recently lost children, lost loved ones, some friends that have lost their jobs, some friends whose marriages are struggling, some friends who can’t get ahead of school debt…and this is just a small piece in my small circle. There is a vast world of suffering out there.

I was talking with a colleague yesterday and we were discussing some minor issues occurring at our work. He said something that really stuck with me, “There are a lot of things that should be one way, and they just aren’t. At the end of the day, you can keep thinking about how things should be and feel upset by it, or you can let the ‘shoulds’ go and go do your best.” (Not exact wording).

That’s something I do — I get hung up on how things should be.

So, things are not as they should be. It’s not ok by any means, and I certainly don’t mean to advocate complacency and not working on the things that are not they way they should be. But things will never be the way they should because our world is deeply and fundamentally broken. Instead, it makes me reflect and be grateful that I have a hope and certainty that one day they will be — and that’s what I believe God’s promise of a renewed Earth is — an eternity of things being as they should be.