The Traveling Pelican

Are you feeling lost and the future is nothing but a dark void? Do you feel like your life is out of control? It's ok to be honest and say it. Say it to yourself and say it to God. Covid-19 has thrown all our lives into a black hole. We have no idea what will happen tomorrow.  I feel that. My life this year came to a full stop. One the one hand, a time of rest was a blessing. On the other hand, I felt lost and afraid of what would happen next. Thoughts such as will I get a job, where is God leading me, why has God allowed many of my friends to suffer, would I ever find a purpose, had God decided I was too much trouble and given up on me? I've never been brought to the edge of panic wondering if the threads of my life were going to unravel forever. The future felt like an impossibility (still does sometimes haha!).  As someone who studies the Bible for a living, you might think I would be immune from such fears. But knowledge, while a great blessing and help, does not take...

I was contemplating life recently as I hiked up a mountain, and thought about how often my life just seems like a big load of sh**t. And I thought this very objectively and rationally (as odd as that may seem). Recent losses and circumstances have frustrated and depressed me. My current life is hardly what I had hoped it would be at this age. At the same time, certain blessings remain, such as plenty of food and a home, my Dad having a steady job, my parents being loving and gracious, my friends being committed, and being a Christian who has numerous spiritual blessings. Why wasn't I the queen of happiness? But I continued to have this overwhelming sense of my life's sh**tiness.  And just then on the mountain, Paul popped into my mind.  If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the chur...