Adversity and Walking the Talk

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him, our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33 21-22

I am pretty angry and sad right now. I just found out this morning that I flunked the Bar for a second time. I thought I had studied hard enough, I thought I knew the material well enough, but apparently, I do not. I remember one Professor from law school telling me that I really did not need to worry about the bar because it is a test of minimum competency. (Boy, do those words ring in my head now.)

When I was clerking up at court, there was another person I knew who had failed the bar twice. Three different people, whose opinions I respect, each said, independent of each other, “Not everyone is cut out for the law.” They were not being mean, and they each said it with a hint of sadness in their voice, because they knew this person as well.

Jesus said that even the heathen love their friends. As devastating as this blow is, as a Christian, am I not like those who have no faith if I allow myself to fall into despair? Even at the depth of his own human suffering, Christ was asking his father in heaven to forgive his persecutors, rather than wallowing in his pain and become the real victim of his tormentors.

If we are following G-d’s plan, then he can take any setbacks we encounter and use them for good. Whether we know the reason or not, if we keep the faith, then G-d, through the Holy Spirit, can bring good out of it through either the situation or us. It is only our job to keep the faith. A worker ant never sees the outside of the mound, and during this lifetime, we will never fully know the mosaic that is a seemingly chaotic existence. If we are still and know that G-d is in charge, then what more can we ask for in our lives? Fair is the place where you go get cotton candy and no one promised us an easy ride. G-d puts on us no more than we can bear. His yoke is light and if I pull the cart in the right direction, it will always lead to an eternal destination.

Therefore, I will take a deep breath, and bear witness to my faith. As a Christian, in the face of adversity, we walk the talk. I have a beautiful family, a wonderful and supportive wife, and we all have our health. I hope that I will find a job to tide us over until the next exam and we will keep our great home in the country. One thing is for sure: my kids will at least know that when a Saunders gets a kick in the teeth, he or she sets her jaw, gets back up, and gets back into the fight. Like my father always said, “Anything worth having is worth the work and if it was easy, everyone would do it.”