Yes, No, And MaybeSýnishorn

Maybe life has worn you down. You attend church and even mid-week Bible study. On the Sundays when you aren’t greeting visitors, you’re rocking babies in the nursery or rushing back and forth between services to sing in the choir or on the worship team. The other six days of the week are no less hectic. The laundry pile is endless. The family insists on eating dinner every night. Homework is hard. School projects are complicated. You feel like an unpaid Uber driver in overdrive, with ballet lessons for Susie on Tuesday, karate for Sam on Saturday, dental cleanings for everyone on Wednesday, and a visit to the veterinarian for Rover this afternoon. In exhaustion, you collapse into the worn-out easy chair and survey your life…

Or maybe debt is what keeps you up at night. Student loans loom. Jobs in your field of study aren’t available. Working two part-time jobs to make ends meet, you still seem to run out of money before you run out of month. As you stare at your shrinking bank account, you examine your life…

Or maybe you feel like your life is on track, but you long for a companion. You serve joyfully at church and in the community. Your dream job is booming. And reading all the books on singleness is teaching you how to meet the right person by being the right person—but the dating site still has not found your perfect match. As you open yet another invitation to a wedding, you evaluate your life…

We’ve all had those moments when we’ve been weighed down by the “uns” of life. These “uns” filter into our lives, no matter where we are or what you’re doing:
 

Unmet expectations: “I thought God would…”

Unfulfilled dreams: “Why didn’t He…?”

Unanswered prayers: “I long for God to…”

Unwanted situations: “If only…”

What is the old saying? Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. Is your T-shirt tattered and faded, but still legible? My “uns” have faded in memory, though they’re not forgotten. But the life I now enjoy with Christ has taught me to cease fixating on what isn’t fulfilled and instead focus on what is taking place because of His grace.