Back again

Hard to believe that it has been so long so I have posted something - a lot of thoughts, experiences as well as glimpses of God in the last two and a half months since I last blogged.
In the last few weeks, the lady who was Colleen's maid of honour at our wedding and her best friend from College died from cancer - she was only 39. Tim, her husband was a buddy of mine in College and we have unfortuneately not been in contact for many years until the invention of facebook. Faced with grief and wanting to say some words of encouragement to Tim when we are so far away from him and their children has been hard for me. The plain reality is that sometimes life just does not make sense and to try and make sense of it can be absolutely stupid - we are created to bring glory to God and God alone and sometimes life does not make sense, but we are to worship Him in that not making sense stuff.
Tim and Jane started dating right around the same time that Colleen and I started dating - good times they were and I am glad for the memories of those days. Life was simplier then, not the "messiness" that sometimes happens as we march through life and walk with God - I like things nice and neat, I have learned and continue to learn that God likes to keep me on my toes, always learning, always growing, always gaining perspective from His Word most importantly, but also sometimes through experience.
I love the Psalms, I think mainly because of my love and respect for Dr Barker who taught the Psalms in College and this morning I was reading Psalm 3 again. I needed it - the Psalms provide me with perspective, with peace and the understanding that I am not alone with what I feel, see and experience through this life. But the words, "But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the one who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain", are a precious reminder and promise of God's love for me and His desire to give me good things in life. Yes there is pain, yes there is grief, yes there is failure, but God is there - and He loves me and He desires to give us good things. So today, as I wrestle with grief and pain for my friend Tim and think about what he is going through, as I lift him up to God today, I know that God is there with him, and I know that God is with me in my pain, in my failure, in my sin, in my joys, in my laughter, because in the midst of everything, it is God and God alone who lifts up my head - thank you God for your love and presence in my life in the midst of the good and bad and thank you for today and lifting up my head! Amen.