Hard Times

A lot of things have polar opposites- there’s the obvious North and South Pole, but there’s also black and white, warm and cold, up and down, ying and yang, happy and sad. But does that mean that for every good moment there is a bad moment too? Lately I’ve been thinking about the hard things we go through in life. I’ve had really good moments in life, but also some really bad moments.
For the past few days I’ve been studying from the book of Job. Job is described as being blameless and pure, a man who fears God and shuns evil. He has to go through many trials- losing his wealth and family, painful sores. Yet he never blames God or curses Him. That made me think about how I handle bad things in my life. It’s odd that during deaths of family members, choosing a university and a program that hardly anyone supported or wanted for me, an injury that resulted in me losing my swim career and chance at a national spot and almost losing a semester of school in the process- big, life changing moments, I’ve relied on God. Even during my teen years when I tried to walk away from God, I still knew in my heart He would sustain me and watch over me. But last week my faith was weakened over something much smaller. I guess “the rest of my life” isn’t small, but what I saw as a bad thing was really a blessing. I’m finishing a degree, and I have so many options and exciting things ahead of me. When I should have seen that the Lord has provided me with many paths to take, I chose to see and focus on the negative. So, it is my prayer lately that I keep the same faith that Job had.
Following the theme of opposites, I have good news and bad news. The good (no, fantastic!!) news is that….my applications are done!! Done, done, done, in the mail, done!! I mailed them yesterday, and I felt like I just floated out of the post office! It was such a relief to have them all done and not have to worry about finishing them anymore. Now I just have to worry about the results-haha!
This week has definitely been the busiest of the year. Due to the fact that we all overload on our courses, the exams for my program are scheduled a week early, giving us time to properly study for our elective exams. So, this week I’ve written three exams in four days, with my last one this afternoon. Then, tomorrow morning I have my thesis presentation. Three and half years of work is culminating in one presentation tomorrow, and I am SO nervous! So, here’s the bad news: I woke up yesterday with an awful cold, and I’ve completely lost my voice. In about fourteen hours I have to stand in front of all my classmates, the head of my program and a panel of professors to discuss the implementation of mandatory physical education in schools, and I can’t talk!! I’ve been drinking tea and honey like crazy and doing every trick I can think of, so hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning with my voice back, loud and clear.

Job’s friend Eliphaz talks in Chapter 5 about the faithfulness of God. He says:

“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; He sends water upon the countryside. The lowly He sets on high, those who mourn are lifted to safety”.
- Job 5:8-11

Trusting in the Lord’s faithfulness-

*L