Pressure or purpose

by Michele Boy | April 6, 2023

I read an article the other day where a 17 year old girl from Abilene was killed when an 18 year old girl shared/sold something  laced with Fentanyl. 
  Kids. They make stupid decisions. I was a kid and made more mistakes than you could imagine. I stop sometimes and have no idea how I survived. 
It is either dumb luck or God’s intervention.
 I will go with the second because that offers more purpose.
But watching kids make those mistakes is hard. So often we see great potential and missed opportunities. 
We hope and pray they will make the right decisions but the world is a scary place.
  And as they get older with more freedoms, it seems scarier. Peer pressure, driving, choosing a partner.
We try to guide them but they still are kids. They make mistakes.   
  At church on Sunday the pastor mentioned how coal has to be pressured to become a diamond. 
So often I am focused on the stresses or the pressure that I forget there is a diamond outcome.
 But we don’t have control. We don’t know what that diamond will look like.  
 I kept going back to that Sunday morning moment when I heard those words that guided me this week.
 Pressure, it’s there for a reason. 
 Sometimes it tests you, perfects you, or pushes you towards somewhere you need to be.
 It’s not for nothing. 
Maybe jail woke that person up because they were headed in a wrong direction. Maybe your past helped someone grow. 
Maybe you became stronger for it.
Do you feel pressure? Are the decisions in front of you overwhelming? Or maybe there doesn’t seem to be a palatable option?
 Life gets hard sometimes. Maybe knowing there is purpose helps? 
Phil Wickham sings, “When all I see is the battle, You see my victory
When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me.”
I don’t think anyone wants pressure. I don’t think anyone says, “Hey God, give me the hardest thing I can handle.” 
Well maybe some do. I don’t. 
But looking back on some of the challenges in my life, I see they made me better, stronger. 
I went to therapy years ago and told her I think life is too hard. I would like an easier road. She responded that it was too late. I was already on the hard road. 
Interestingly enough, the situation I needed help getting through, this therapist I randomly picked had gone through the same thing but harder. 
Where I was frustrated at dealing with this situation for a couple of years, she had dealt with it for 20 years!
 I know someone who went to prison for a few years. While that time was daunting, the inmates laughed because that amount of time was nothing compared to their 20 plus year sentences. Maybe sharing with each other is the answer to getting some perspective. And maybe realizing that everyone goes through exactly what they need, helps understanding.
One thing I know is I can’t do this on my own. I need God. I need people. 
 Wickham’s lyrics continue, “So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You.”
If this Easter doesn’t look quite the way you pictured it. Maybe remembering that Good Friday was the darkest of days. Saturday was silent. But Sunday came. Sunday came! 
Sunday came!