For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (I Corinthians 13:12 NKJV)
Standing in my kitchen pondering over yet another meal for my family, I am bombarded with children at every end all needing something from me. "Not again" I say to myself as I turn to every angle where they are standing. "God why did you have to make this job so hard and so tiresome," I reasoned within myself.
No one can predict the entire future. Not fortune tellers, soothsayers, palm readers, tarot readers, etc. 20 years ago I never knew I would even consider marriage and a family. But after having been married for nine years and five kids later, here I am. My parents never knew they were going to give birth to and raise thriteen children. Who predicts or plans for that kind of life? Only God knows the future or why anything at all happens.
The Bible says we don't see the clear picture. Its as if the image is foggy or dim. Did you picture your entire life being what it is today with all of the choices made in the past that brought you here? Certainly not. While looking through that dimly lit mirror we pictured something else or maybe it was so dim that we didn't picture anything at all. I like knowing what is ahead or what is in store for me. I like being able to see what is causing all the commotion in front of the big semi that is blocking me on the highway. Its in our nature to wonder - He gave that to us.
For this reason, its a good thing that God has foresight on our behalf. Even though it is true when they say, "Life is only 10% of what happens to you and the other 90% is how you respond to it," I can't help but wonder why He chose for that 10% to be a difficult journey. Yes God loves us and cares for us but even with knowing that, its not knowing the journey itself that is so hard.
As I try to ponder the path He has for me I hear, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him." (I Corinthians 2:9 NKJV) So I take comfort in understanding that I do not like the path itself (or the foggy image) but the end result will justify His means.
One thing is certain - that the image will one day become clear as the sky itself. Then we'll understand everything we've gone through and why we've gone through it. I like how The Message Bible says it: We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (I Corinthians 13: 12-13 MSG)
