Perspective

If there's one thing children (especially infants) are good for it's giving you a renewed perspective on life. They reflect every natural, basic human characteristic we posses. Fear, joy, sadness, guilt, ecstasy, humor, and love are reflected in the maturing eyes and faces of children everywhere. No one has told them how they are supposed to feel in any given situation, they just know to feel it. There's a profound beauty in their innocence that brings me back to the incredible ways God has shaped us...

In the same way it brings me joy to watch Josh grow and become more aware of his surroundings it also brings me a great sense of anxiety. I've been working in Hollywood the past few weeks and to talk with kids who have just turned 18 or spent a few years in college is alarming because they show how ruined we can become so fast. In the past few days I have talked with teenagers who do ecstasy and acid like its no big thing. God says in James 1:2-3 that the trails in life are what grow us the most and give us the greatest sense of endurance with which to take on even more strife the next time. An even more popular Christian platitude for human suffering is 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says "The temptation in your life are no more different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted He will show you a way out so that you can endure."

The only reasoning I can find as to why our generation seems so incredibly broken at such a young age is something that Andy Stanley said in one of his sermons on love and that is "This generation has an incredibly low pain-tolerance." That has to be true because it seems that any bit of family fracture, relationship failure, health issue or inability to achieve a personal goal/dream leads to a great deal sorrow which leads to self-medication via sex, drugs, alcohol or violence and never to Christ as it should. Deep down we may be able to achieve a divine level of perseverance but our current society is severely lacking in spiritual fortitude.

In all honesty, I am so afraid for Josh and his future in this world that seems to be spiraling downward at an alarming rate. I am even intimidated by the thought that the trails God is about to lead me into are far worse than the ones I've already experience. I know that it means spiritual growth and enlightenment will occur simultaneously, but it's hardly an encouraging thought as one stands before the fires of this life to know, that after passing through the flaming gauntlet, that the burns will heal to make the skin even stronger and thicker than it once was. But that's if, and only if, we aren't first overwhelmed by the flames themselves.

Hopefully, we can raise up this next generation with a higher pain tolerance than we were left with by our parents. If we fail to do so, there is no telling what the rates of divorce, suicide, abortion, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse will be like in the near future. It has to start now though. It has to start with us. Every time we have the chance to run from a difficult experience or mentally/physically/spiritually exhausting situation we have to choose to stick it out and trust that "God will give us strength along the way"-Jeff Vines (as cheesy as that is to quote, I just had to). That's easier said than done, especially when you're in the thick of it, but it's essential to internalize as our every instinct will tell us that things aren't working out easily enough because we aren't doing the right things. Often times things are the most difficult when they are exactly what we are to be doing. Places seem the most bleak when they are right where we are supposed to be. People appear the most hopeless when they are exactly who we are supposed to be with.

I know everybody's situation is different, I know God's word is tireless, I know we are everything but perfect and we will fail. But I also know that we never give ourselves enough credit for the things we can accomplish with God's help.

All in all, that's just my suffering shot in the dark.