Sometimes you feel like those aches and pains are getting the best of you. That’s why you have to admire the people who are able to age gracefully; the people who are able to take those aches and pains in stride and keep on smiling.  One elderly woman who was able to do that was a parishioner of mine when I was in Maine. Her name was Gertrude Hutchinson and I will always remember a conversation we had one day. It was in the chapel right before Christmas. All the little old ladies were hugging me and the chapel was full of joy.  Then I saw Gertrude standing there. She had a funny look on her face.  “Gertrude, what’s the matter?” I asked.  “Do you want a hug too?” “Oh yes,” she exclaimed. After we hugged I smiled and told her that I was going to open a hugging both at the church fair the following year. “Really,” she said. “You’re going to be giving hugs away?”  At that point I feigned a little indignation and said, “Gertrude, I’m surprised at you. I may be easy, but I’m not cheap. The hugs are going to be a $1.00 each.”  Gertrude laughed and then slowly hobbled out of the chapel with her cane.  She didn’t get very far though before she turned around and hobbled back to the front of the chapel. Then with a twinkle in her eye said looked at me and said very playfully, “Of course there’s going to be a senior citizens discount right?”

That attitude is always refreshing. Sometimes though, it really feels like you’re being tested by those nagging aches and pains. Sometimes the test comes when you’re at school and you’re experiencing a lot of peer pressure.  Sometimes the test comes in a relationship that really tries your patience; or a problem that just won’t go away.

John Mason found himself faced with one of those tests this past week. You may recognize the name since he’s the guy who got left at the altar by that run away bride. Now, he has to make a decision.  He has to decide if he was going to forgive her or go on with his life without her. From what I’ve read, I guess he wants to forgive her.

Life is full of tests. So, I’ll ask the question again. Do those tests that you face in life really come from God?

Peter wrestled with that question. His letter was written to Christians who were being severely tested. They were being persecuted and punished for their faith. Peter knew what they were going through. So, he shared this advice with them. “Bow down, then, before the power of God now, so that he may raise you up in due time…”  He also told them to humble themselves before “the mighty hand of God.”

Based on that, you have to say that Peter believed that the tests you face in life really do come from God. A little later on though, Peter suggests that those tests don’t come from God at all.  Instead, he wrote that they come from, “your enemy the devil (who) is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

When you put it all together it sounds like a contradiction. I don’t think it is though.  What Peter is saying here is simple. God isn’t up in heaven pulling strings all the time to make sure you’re tested while you’re here on earth, but God does allows those tests to come your way.

Now why would a God whose love is from everlasting to everlasting allow you be tested from time to time?  Maybe it’s because God knows that when you face those tests they can make you a better person.

In some ways it’s no different from a mother letting a child learn how to walk. The mother lets the child wobble around knowing that eventually the child is going to fall.  The child might even end up with some a few bumps and bruises.  That’s something that has to happen though so the child can learn how to stand on his or her own feet.  It’s the same later on in life. If the child gets into trouble or does something wrong the mother has to step back and let the child face the test. That way the child learns to be responsible.  The child learns to do the right thing. The child has to face the test so that he or she learns respect or humility or patience or courage.

Sometimes all of this ends up being a test for the mother too. You feel like you’re being tested when the principal from school calls or the son comes home with a big dent in the car or your daughter goes out on a date with a green haired boy who happens to have a big piece of metal sticking out of his nose.

Sometimes you’re going to feel just like the young mother who sent an unusual thank you note to some friends.  The thank you note was for a new playpen.  “Many thanks for the playpen,” she wrote.  “It’s being used every day.  From 2 to 3 p.m., I get in it to read and the children can’t get near me.”

Sometimes love means you step back and let someone face a test that isn’t easy. That’s what God does. God doesn’t make life easy for you. Instead God lets those tests or challenges, if you will, come your way.

It can be painful at times.  It can be frightening at times.  It can be discouraging at times. Here’s the important thing to remember though. Peter made it very clear to those Christians who were being persecuted and punished that God always goes through those tests with you.  God is always there beside you. As Peter told them, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”  Peter also told them that in the end, “the God of all grace…will restore you, he will confirm, strengthen and support you.”

The best image of this God that I’ve ever seen can be found in a variation on the well known poem, “Footprints In the Sand.” Some of you have heard it before. It’s been several years since I last shared it with you. So, as you listen to it again I invite you to listen to the words while thinking about the tests in life that you may be facing right now.

One day a woman had a dream.  In it she and the Lord were walking along a beach together.  For much of the way, the Lord's footprints were steadily and consistently. The woman’s footprints, on the other hand, were all over the place. Zigs and zags, sudden starts, stops and turnaround circles. After a while though, the woman’s footprints fell into line with the Lord’s. That’s the way it went for many miles. Then an amazing thing happened.  Suddenly, the women’s smaller footprints were inside the Lord’s footprints. Gradually they grew and grew until they disappeared entirely. Now there was only one step of footprints in the sand and the woman was filled with joy. Then something awful happened. The second set of footprints reappeared, and this time both sets of footprints were all over the place. Once again there were zigs and zags, sudden starts, stops, turnaround circles and deep gashes in the sand…a veritable mess of prints.  The woman was deeply troubled by what she saw. “Lord,” she said, ‘I understand the first scene with all the chaotic footprints. I was lost and confused. You walked beside me patiently until I learned to walk with you. “That is correct,” the Lord said.  “Yes,” the woman replied, “and then when the smaller footprints were inside yours, I was trying to follow you very closely.”  “Very good,” the Lord said.  “You have understood everything so far.”  “Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually filled in with yours. I supposed that I was becoming more and more like you.” “Precisely,” the Lord said.  At that point there was a pause.  The woman thought about it and then asked, “But then there were two sets of footprints again and it was even worse than it was in the beginning. Was there a regression?  Did I do something wrong?” The Lord smiled and said, “My precious child, don’t you remember? That was when we danced.”

That’s the way to look at those tests that come your way. God wants you to face them and walks through them with you now so the two of you can dance together later.  Amen.

May 8, 2005