No Exemption - Psalms 46:1
My hands were shaking like tremors in an L.A. aftershock and my breathing seemed to be limited to small gulps of air as I sat on the medical exam table listening to the doctor. I was here for a regular exam, but also to ask for a written letter of exemption that would excuse me from the active shooter drill. Everything inside of me wished I was not making this request, but my heart knew it was the only viable option considering what I had survived. PTSD was not something I thought I would ever have to deal with, but here I sat about to make this request.
My mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert in summer and felt like sandpaper. I could hear myself making the request. I could feel the tears about to cascade like Snoqualmie Falls out of my eyes. That is when these words gently slid from her mouth, “I’ve already read about what happened and I’m so sorry. This must be so hard to have to ask for. Of course I will write you the letter.” Instantly, my hand found itself brushing away the tears of relief. I had been given an “Exemption”!
Oh how I wish that in life, we were exempt from pain and suffering. Anyone else? As a child, I had some serious “Coffee table theology” about this. In my childlike heart, I believed that if I loved Jesus and did the right things, my life would be like the “Yellow Brick Road” and I would end up immune from all that. Oh how wrong I was! Here is what I have come to accept: Just because we love Jesus, it doesn’t give us an exemption to life’s trails, pain, and suffering. No where in the Bible does Jesus teach this! What He does say over and over and over is that He will be “With” us and He will help us go through these things. He can be counted on NEVER to leave us. Wowzee!
Stay tuned. Over the next couple days, I will be sharing things that can help us on this journey where there is no exemption to pain, difficulty, and suffering,
Until We Chat Again,
Crystal
