Messy in the middle

But the end of the story can change everything | Andrée Seu

Pasteur Jean-Christophe Bieselaar is overworked and understaffed in Paris, for the glory of God. His email contained news of vandalism to his church, L'Eglise Protestante Evangelique de la Défense, and concluded with this note: "Let me tell you the truth as a pastor, can I? This is bad—and discouraging."

But that is the middle of a story, not an ending.

Pamela, a distant acquaintance, shared the dark night of her soul at a meeting in 1998: Her father was leaving her mother for a woman younger than his daughter. Devastation. Sackcloth and ashes. End of the world as Pamela knew it.

That was also the middle of the story. When I met her over breakfast recently she was radiant. She had seen over nine years that the Lord brings about the most improbably wonderful finales: the restoration of a family to more glory than before the tragedy. No wonder Abraham's son was named "laughter." Back in '98, Pam would have changed the hand dealt her. But, as a retreat speaker once said, "Would you really want to be in control of your own life? I can't even reset the clock on my VCR."