We are all "losers"

Last week we had an exciting night in our household. Our youngest, Grant, called me into his bedroom after we had put him to bed to tell me about a very loose tooth - one that he thought was ready to come out. Upon closer inspection I agreed, and brought him into our bathroom for the "extraction". This procedure entailed Grant grasping his loose tooth with a piece of tissue and tugging on it. After some coaching from Dad, "pull and twist, pull and twist...", and with some pain, a few whimpers, and loss of blood, the tooth finally came out. And to his credit, he did it all on his own.

As I thought about this in the ensuing days, it occurred to me that loss is just a part of life. In this way we are all losers. We all experience loss on various levels, and just like Grant we all must walk through somewhat of a process.

Oftentimes we sense that a loss is coming. Maybe a loved one is seriously ill, or our youngest child is heading off to college in the fall. At othertimes loss catches us by surprise, like when a devastating fire takes away our earthly possessions in just a few hours. Some losses are big, and some are small and very replaceable, such as a baby tooth.

Whether big or small, loss is always painful. To deal with loss in a healthy way, there is always a period of mourning. And loss always leaves a void - at least for a time - that aches to be filled. And most often there needs to be time given to recovery.

Like you I have experienced loss - most have been small, but in the moment they hurt just the same. There are a few big losses that stand out in my mind, the type that mark a person. But here's what I am learning in my spiritual journey - even those losses can be used by God in amazing and redemptive ways, both in my life and the lives of others. I believe that God has a way of taking the hurt, the pain, the damage... and like a master sculptor with chisel and hammer shape our lives IF we can trust him. The Bible speaks of God bringing "beauty from ashes", and as I look back on some of the scorched ground of my past I see green, budding sprouts pushing their way through the blackened soil.