Crooked, sometimes that’s life

I couldn’t sleep. That’s not abnormal for me especially since the person I married has become a tuba player. No, he hasn’t taken up music, just the competition called snoring. And he wins. I go into the guest room. Tonight, very moved by two Good Friday services, I couldn’t sleep. So, I to the guest room I went and began to think. Then I looked up. It’s a beautiful plaque. Simply says, live well, laugh often, love much, and it’s crooked.

It feels like life. Life feels crooked. I could get on the chair and straighten it. There is no chair in this room I could stand on. It will have to be crooked until tomorrow. Yet as long as I snuggle in the bed and look up, I will see it. I will be reminded it’s crooked. And yet, the best option I have is to wait until tomorrow and then straighten it. That means I must wait.

It’s Good Friday. Jesus could have just popped back up and said, “I’m back”, but he made the people wait until Sunday. There are good things to waiting, however right now, we can’t see them. We are in a waiting, mourning pattern. It’s awkward and is crooked. It’s also something we have no control over. There are times life will jut be crooked. There will be waiting days. We tend to rush to celebrations. In the Bible, many times God chose to let the pain walk. One of the Good Friday services emphasized, don’t rush past the cross to get to the light. Good Friday is a time to mourn and lament. Many of the psalms, especially the one Jesus began to quote on the cross Psalm 22 , was a lament. You don’t get over death, you adjust. Take this time before Sunday to adjust. And until the resurrection changes our life, we lament.