Here we have a choice. We can wallow in the mire of suffering until it overtakes our resolve to live. Or we can finally declare: “It’s not about me.”
Photo Credit: File:Fork in the road near Pillaton – geograph.org.uk – 1029422 …
Inspiration
13 Reasons to Live: It’s Not About Me
In a sea of carnage, engulfed by enemy gunfire and immersed in the ravages of war, Desmond Doss had every reason to join his comrades, scale the cliff, and return to the relative safety of the military base. Instead, he remained in the hellish battle; rooted in the knowledge he was there for a purpose though despairing he couldn’t hear God’s voice amid the clamor of war.
Until a faint voice cried out in the distance. “Help.”
Armed only with a ragged Bible, Doss scoured the grisly landscape of death for signs of life. One by one he snatched devastated bodies from the grip of the grave, lowering them with painstaking care over the side of the cliff; again and again he returned, risking his life with each venture until some 75 comrades were lowered to safety.
I can’t imagine emerging from even five minutes of battle unscathed mentally and emotionally. The average person would drown in the unmerciful memories. War would seem the ultimate weapon in conjuring 13 Reasons Why to give up on life.
And yet, in the midst of one of the fiercest of World War II battles, Desmond Doss found a reason to live. “Give me one more, Lord,” he prayed repeatedly until his mission was complete, staying true to his conviction: “With the world so set on tearing itself apart, it don’t seem like such a bad thing…to want to put a little bit of it back together.”
Any honest person could easily come up with a list of 13 Reasons Why to plan a swift escape from this sin-sick world. Maybe if pain weren’t standing guard before death, more of us would already have left the madness of earth far behind.
But here we have a choice. We can wallow in the mire of suffering until it overtakes our resolve to live. Or we can finally declare: “It’s not about me.”
Desmond Doyle survived war without a weapon in hand, emerged from the fire a hero because of this one choice he made. He did not cower in fear of the greatest giant known to mankind. He did not succumb to complacency, savagery, or despair.
Instead, he listened for that one voice crying, “Help.” And then another, and another. And little by little, he put a small part of the world back together.
Maybe if we adopted this grand mission of putting even the smallest pieces of our own corners of this world back together, we would find our purpose is far greater than ourselves. And we would find that is more than enough reason…to live.
Something Greater
If suffering can be overcome, and is overcome, and has been overcome through all of history, there must be a reason. There must be something greater. Something worth living for.
Photo Credit: Aurora Over The Valley | I was driving home from a photo eve… | Flickr
13 Reasons to Live: Worth Holding On To
Is life worth living? This question haunts the most honest of souls. When shrouds of darkness roll in, it’s tempting to wonder whether it’s worth fighting for another breath.
13 Reasons Why deals with the aftermath of the death of someone who came to believe her life was not worth living. And it deals with the before-math—-the events that brought her to this sad conclusion. The screen adaptation of the story has stirred up controversy, with some saying it will awaken viewers to the plight of those considering suicide, and others saying it may inadvertently glamorize the idea.
In the midst of the battle of words, we overlook the sheer hopelessness at the core of the death-set heart. Convinced the darkness of earth outweighs the light, the desperate are driven to pursue death, believing it their only escape from our sin-sick world. But what if instead we set before our eyes a litany of reasons to live, instead of a recitation of reasons to die?
While we could use the evil of the world to deny purpose for life, what about the good? A history of suffering men and women found enough good in this world to keep living, to keep moving forward. Would we be here now, if not?
Men and women from the beginning of time lived through famine, sickness, plague, holocaust, war, slavery, death, and more. And yet the common theme is each found a reason to persevere. Must not the good outweigh the evil, if generation upon generation has survived through the deepest of hells?
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” Helen Keller, herself suffering incredible loss, spoke these words of truth. If suffering can be overcome, and is overcome, and has been overcome through all of history, there must be a reason. There must be something greater. Something worth living for.
In the midst of darkness, on the precipice of battle, Samwise Gamgee spoke these words to his friend Frodo. Though spoken in the realm of fiction, they ring of truth in our non-fiction world of suffering: “By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories…the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer…Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding onto something…that there’s some good in this world…and it’s worth fighting for.”
My prayer for you is that you find that something worth holding onto. Cling to it through all the darkness that is and that lies ahead. And that you come to see this shadow is a passing thing. In the end, light will always prevail.
Photo Credit: Free photo Texture Cave Structure Drain Background Stone – Max Pixel
Everything in its Season
I’ve never asked the sun to shine, but still it does
I’ve never asked for rainy skies, yet still they come
I’ve never asked the wind to blow
I’ve never asked for winter snow
I’ve never asked for evening stars but still, they are
I’ve never asked for spring’s relief, yet seasons turn
I’ve never asked for summer heat, and still it burns
I’ve never asked for falling leaves
I’ve never asked for forest trees
I’ve never asked for flowers to grow, but Lord—You know
Everything comes in its season
Governed by power unseen
Change comes to our lives for a reason
Revealed only in eternity
Our lives are an intricate tapestry
Woven with perfect design
Every joy, every pain writes our destiny
Born with love from the dawn of time
You know every need, and You meet it
Before we can whisper a prayer
You’re working although we can’t see it
Your purpose will one day be clear
(Originally posted by Jen on the Tears of Joy Blog)
The Law of Spring
New life will always prevail over death. It’s the law of spring.
Photo Credit: Spring – Free images on Pixabay
The Flowers Still Bloom
Spring came as a welcome gift this year. Though it’s always been a miraculous season, something was different when it finally broke through this time around. Maybe the harsh winter had stamped out any assurance that warmth would prevail and new life spring forth as promised—the relentless snow and lingering cold freezing out all hope. Or maybe it was something more.
While it’s unreasonable to question if spring will come, there is always the matter of when…and how long we’ll have to endure before it does come. When the cultural climate is stuck on winter, it seems all the more miraculous that spring manages to show up in the midst. How—in the soil of persistent war, conflict, violence, and suffering, do the trees still grow and the flowers still bloom?
The season of life may be overshadowed by the death that is winter, but it is never overcome. In fact, death is what prepares the soil for life. If there were no winter, spring would never come in its fullness of glory. And God has given a promise that if we press on to know him in the midst of our suffering, he will come to us like the spring rains that water the earth.
All that surrounds may steal our hope and drain our life. The constant bad news breeds depression, doubt, and sheer exhaustion. But the good news is…the flowers still bloom. Spring still comes. It can’t be hindered. New life will always prevail over death. It’s the law of spring.
“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and he will come to us like the rain—the spring rain that waters the earth.” (Hosea 6:3)
This Life & Beyond 
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