"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

How do you actually measure happiness and good times? As Varun and I were walking home in the sunshine yesterday, he asked me, "So, are you enjoying married life?". Somehow, we concluded, even though we've got health, love, friends, education, family...it all leaves a lingering desire for something lasting. Even those best, most intimate or fulfilling moments leave something to be desired. The ensuing conversation was about our hunger for God and our yearning for heaven. All of the joys and pleasures of this world are only a foretaste of the next!

This is great news!

When I think about the joy, the excellent food, the fun, the love, the relaxation that I have enjoyed this summer, I'm awestruck that God has even more in store for us!

And yet, how easily we forget. A supporter who has to stop giving, an argument, health problems, financial struggles, rain...and suddenly we're shaking our fist at God and wondering why he's "holding out" on us. I marvel at Job, who, when faced with the death of his children, the loss of his property and extreme illness, replied, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed by the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). What bindblowing, unshakeable faith!

Is this how I respond?

As Varun and I were discussing options and sorting priorities in the quest for a job and where to settle down, Varun responded to my panic with this quote by George Mueller. Mueller was a 19th century Englishmen who opened orphanages and lived completely dependent on God for his daily bread. This quote reveals that his faith was grounded in his knowledge of who God is.

"Our heavenly father never takes anything from his children unless He means to give them something better." George Mueller

Does "something better" mean a raise or a new car or a clean bill of health? No, not in God's economy. "Something better" could look like a lost job or death in the family, it could look like defeat and rejection. But in God's plan, all that He gives us is for our benefit, somehow, someway. And ultimately, he gives us the supreme "something better": salvation, and eternity spent with Him. Which, I'm fairly certain, is better than every ice cream-day at the beach-true love-great movie...ever.