Guest post By Ryan Schrader

Many big events in our lives often play out a little bit like the following illustration:

So I’m planning this dream trip to Paris. A trip I’ve been waiting years for. I have all the right clothes picked out; places I want to visit all mapped out. I know what restaurants I’m planning to eat at and everything is perfect.

Finally, the day is here. The plane lands and I’m ready for my adventure in Paris. But as I get off the plane I am shocked to realize that the plane didn’t land in Paris. The plane landed in Ireland. This can’t be happening. I didn’t plan for Ireland, I don’t have the right clothes, I don’t know where to eat or stay in Ireland… Isn’t that how life works?

We make all these big plans and preparations and then in one instant everything changes.

So what is your Paris? (Photo by Pixabay)

Maybe it was failing out of college. Maybe you lost your dream job, or your marriage ended in divorce. Maybe it was a diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. You see we all have these pivotal moments in our lives that drastically change the path we are on.

A few years ago, I had a moment that would change the focus of my entire life. (Photo by Pixabay)

You see, I lost my baby sister in a horseback riding accident. When that phone call came in, I felt like the plane of my life took a sudden heartbreaking detour from the Paris I had planned and landed in a location I never wanted to go.

So what now?

What do we do when we feel hopeless, helpless and desperate? When we feel like we don’t have enough faith to even take the next breath much less keep going? What do we do when things don’t work out how we planned? When that plane doesn’t land in Paris?

It’s the answer to that very question that I want to talk about today.

You see there is an enemy in this world who’s only goal is to steal, kill and destroy. The Bible says this enemy roams the earth looking for whom he can devour. Becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior unfortunately doesn’t give us a pass on bad things happening in our lives. (Photo by Pixabay)

But it does give us the answer to that question.

And that answer is HOPE.

The hope in a sovereign God that Romans chapter 8 tells us is able to work all things for the good of those who love him. Not some, not limited to the minor tragedies of life- no, it says ALL things. It says Ryan, your little sisters passing was not in vain. It says there is a God in heaven who is able to take that awful tragedy and make something good out of it.

Did God cause the death of my little sister? Absolutely not. Did God cause all the bad things that have happened to each of you over the years? Absolutely not. (Photo by Pixabay)

From the time sin entered this world there has been death and pain and suffering. But in the middle of the pain and sorrow of this life is a sovereign God who promises to take what the enemy has meant for evil and turn it to good. There is a God in heaven that says to each of us that if you will let me I will take what the enemy is using to destroy you and instead I will use it to draw us nearer together than we have ever been before.

Are we going to understand everything that happens in this life?

NOPE.

That’s what faith is for, its deciding in our hearts that even though I don’t understand why and I don’t see how anything good could possibly come out of all of this pain. I’m choosing to believe in faith that what my God has promised me- is true.

What do you do when the plane lands and it’s not in Paris? What do we do when the phone rings and suddenly your little sister is gone?

You get mad, you ask a lot of questions. You cry and you mourn and you pull together as a family, you do all those things BUT the one thing you don’t do is you don’t cut God out. Instead, you have to realize that God is the only one who can take all the broken pieces of your life and put you back together.

If there is one thing that I know, it is at those times in our lives, in the middle of the pain, loss and sorrow that we have to draw even nearer to God. We have to make a conscious decision to trust in the promise that he can and will work all things for good.

Isaiah 61:3 says that we will be given beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for our mourning. (Photo by Pixabay)

We will mourn. We will hurt, cry, get angry, and struggle.

You see when you get off that plane its ok to take time to mourn not landing in Paris, but it’s not ok to stay there forever. There you will only find emptiness, sorrow and bitterness. Getting stuck here will keep you from seeing the beauty, hope and joy that are waiting for you in Ireland.

My sister had touched so many people’s lives in her short time on this earth and although our lives are so drastically different without her here, we are learning to enjoy the beauty of Ireland. We have been given the gift of watching her children grow and have families of their own. We are so much more aware of the beauty of each and every day and we no longer take even the smallest moments for granted. We didn’t plan for this, we wouldn’t choose this path, it’s certainly not Paris. But, there is beauty and hope that is arising from those ashes of loss and we are thankful for God rebuilding our lives and putting those pieces back together. I pray that you let God do the same for you.

In memory of my sister Wendi. I look forward to seeing you again someday. You are forever in my heart. Love, Ryan.