Even though
It is bitterly cold today. A picture-book February day. The sun is shining, there is frost on the meadows and trees everywhere. I enjoy lunch in the winter garden, where the warmth of the sun spreads wonderfully through the room, protected by the windows. Then I take my obligatory midday rest and after that, I plan my “rollator walk” behind the house.
But what is that? The sun is disappearing more and more behind clouds of mist that are drifting up to us from the Rhine Valley. When I finally set off behind the house, dressed in thick clothes, to do my training laps, the sun has disappeared and instead a cold, wet mist has spread everywhere, penetrating through and through. Even long after I’ve gone back into the house, the cold is still somehow clinging to my body and it takes a long time for me to warm up again.
Isn’t it often the same in our lives? Everything is going well. Everything is fine. We are enjoying everyday life and suddenly, out of nowhere, dark clouds and fog appear. This confusion that settles inside us has driven away all the good things we felt just a few moments before. It is as if it had never been there.
Yesterday I thought about this and felt a longing inside me for the confusion, the fog that is currently dominating my life, to finally disappear. But at the same time, I realized that then the next problem, the next difficult, confusing event would appear. I guess that’s what you call life.
What I want for my life and what I am currently looking for is that my happiness, contentment and peace are not dependent on my circumstances. I want this “even though” life. A life in which God’s peace permeates everything and joy is possible despite adverse circumstances. Because I know: He is the one who has everything under control. Not me. That’s why it’s so important that I hold on to HIM. Because it makes little sense to hold on to yourself.
My hope is that I am moving towards such a life. A life in which HIS peace rules my life, despite everything that happens around me.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
