Why Is The World Broken?

I know the answer to this question. I guess I'm posing it because the world seems particularly broken to me today. My heart is heavy and many times when it is, I question things I already know.

I have several family members going through tough times right now. I want so badly to make everything ok for everyone. . . like somehow the power of what I have come to believe will magically fix things for others. But the truth is. . .as hard as it is to walk rough roads. . .we all must walk them from time to time. Some of us more often than others. I'm not sure why.

But today my heart is particularly heavy for Angela. Angela is a girl that I do not really know. We have a mutual friend who has connected us because we've both struggled with infertility. Angela became pregnant a few months ago with triplets. A seemingly bountiful blessing for someone who has longed for a child for years. Today Angela went into premature labor at about 22 weeks and because of the lack of development of those little ones, not even one of them will see life on this earth. I know they are in heaven. . .with my babies. . .and my friend's babies. Oh the army of little ones in heaven gets larger and larger, and that I just don't understand.

Why is the world broken? I said I know the answer. . .but I think my answer is to a different question. I know how the world became broken, but truly none of us knows why. We know it came in the garden, when Adam and Eve made a poor decision that opened their eyes to good and evil. But we don't really know why the Lord allowed this brokenness to come.

My only hope right now is in the power of prayer. For months I questioned the purpose and effectiveness of prayer; after experiencing my own devastating loss. As much as I don't understand the timing involved with prayer, I do know that it works. . .not as some super-voodoo way of getting what we want, when we want it, but rather as a way to expressing to our Father our desperate need for His intervention and grace.

I confess that my prayers for our little girl have become less frequent and fervent in the past few weeks. Of course I still pray for her and this pregnancy but not as fiercely as I did my first trimester. Today has taught me in many ways that it's not over till it's over. There is never a good time to sit back, take a sigh of relief and think you've arrived. We must contend until the very end. . .and by the very end I mean when the Lord returns. As long as this world is broken (and it will be until Jesus comes), our only hope is in Him and our only comfort is to cling to Him daily.

Will you pray with me today? For my family and for Angela. That the Lord will bring quick relief and comfort during these difficult times. I don't always understand His ways - but I know He is faithful. And if I can't stand on that truth, then not even the most fervent prayers will bring wholeness to this world.