“That was hard but it was fun and challenging!”.  Probably one of the best things I ever heard one of my students say, mainly because so much of the time my students complain like crazy when something gets the least bit difficult.  For so many of these kids, life has been pretty good so far and by comparison, the least little thing seems so hard.  But at some point, they will discover that life can be really hard.

I think about the kids whose parents and families are dealing with the flooding and right now, THESE kids have it hard.  Their homes and schools may be gone, their personal items, clothing and toys will be ruined.  They’re wondering where they are going to live, sleep and eat.  And while they have adults with them to take care of them, it is an early lesson in how life sometimes strikes a brutal blow.

I often wonder how families deal with this kind of thing when they have no source of  faith.  Faith that there is a Being greater than they are, faith that there is a lesson to be learned, even if we don’t understand why.  One of the refreshing things about people in this state is that I’ve heard them ask for thoughts and prayers.  There are people in power that say thoughts and prayers don’t do anything, but I would beg to differ.  Obviously, putting feet and hands with those prayers is always the right thing to do, but for those of us who believe, we have a God who listens and responds to prayer.  It may not exactly what we want to hear, but we also know that whatever the answer, He sees the big picture.  And sometimes the big picture is learning that life is hard but we can get through it.

I made the mistake yesterday of reading someone’s feed detailing the tragedy happening in the state and someone said, well, that’s what you get when your representatives vote a certain way.  That’s the most illogical thing I’ve ever heard and hello, not EVERYTHING has to be political.  So, we as a people shouldn’t ask for help or prayer because a certain representative voted against something that could have helped us?  Regardless, the people of Nebraska are going to work together and do whatever it takes to help each other anyway, not depending on legislation or a particular political party.

I just heard a few minutes ago that our city is under a mandatory water restriction and yes, this will be a slight inconvenience.  It’s all a matter of perspective isn’t it?  As the pastor said in church today, when someone is dealing with difficulty and says they feel like Job, they probably have no idea of the kinds of things that Job went through and probably should re-read the story.  There will be people who will find all kinds of things to complain about when this happens because they perceive it as hard.  Someone will blame others and say someone didn’t plan or think ahead enough.  But the truth is, life is hard, things happen and are we preparing our kids to be able to deal with life when things happen they can’t control?

So, for my friends who are not in Nebraska, keep the thoughts and prayers coming because they are appreciated.  And for those who can, put some feet and hands to your prayers.  You will make a difference and help show others that with help, they can make it, even when life is hard.