Whoa!  Pretty deep, huh? The meaning of life, really? We’re talking no small potatoes for a blog topic. We’re going to go deep today, guys.  Would you believe a 36-year-old wannabe therapist who works as an assistant in a waiting room would think she knows anything whatsoever about the meaning of life?  Probably not.  I find it hard to believe myself.  (And who knows, maybe after reading you’ll think that I don’t know squat!)  I’ll never claim to know even .01% of what there is to know…but since I can, I’m going to put out there what I think is food for thought, and let you decide what you believe.  This is what’s on my mind this week.

I get my inspirations for my blogs from everyday life… passing thoughts, things I see or hear, etc.  Today I was sitting in my boss’s office waiting for a color copy to come out of his printer, and looking at his artwork.  He has a picture on the wall in his office that says, “Perhaps strength doesn’t reside in having never been broken,…but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places.”  I am also doing another Beth Moore Bible study.  Something she said also spoke to me in the same way…she said something like (not a direct quote…I’m paraphrasing) ”a story of a life unbroken does not make a very good story.”

Think about that for a minute.  If you’ll indulge me, there are two more things that have caught my eye this week, so let me share those with you as well, and you’ll be able to see where I’m coming from and why I’m blogging about it.  My co-worker Kathy Henry posted on her blog this week (entitled “Hitting Rock Bottom” see the link to her blog at the bottom of the page) about how sometimes it seems like quite a paradox when you realize that you are the most thankful for what you have when you are laying in the gutter looking up (sometimes after having lost everything you cared for.)  Also, I watched a movie the other day called “The Case For Faith” and there’s a portion of it in which the story of Charles Templeton is shown.  Templeton eventually lost his faith in God after having been such a remarkable televangelist early on in his life, with Billy Graham.  One of his biggest questions that caused his faith to waiver was “If there is a God, how can there be so much evil in the world?”

All of these things are tied together by a common theme: brokenness.  I think it is part of the human condition that all of us will be broken at one time or another. It’s not a matter of if.  The universe (and in my belief system, that means God), is supposed to want the very best for us right?  So how can He allow bad things to happen to His people?  Now think about it this way…how many people do you know that would have their love for God grow exponentially, or even seek Him at all, if they had everything they wanted and needed in this life the whole time? Would we really be thankful for all our blessings, realize and remember how God takes care of us, or need Him at all for that matter, if our lives were always roses?  (This same mentality also carries into our lives with our spouses, families, and friends…by the way.)

I think God allows (different than initiating) bad things to happen not to punish us or abandon us, but to lovingly help us when we need it the most…when we turn our eyes from Him and think we can do everything on our own and when we get caught in the traps of this world…when we are not on the path that leads to Him.  God knows that if our focus is not in the right place (on Him and those closest to us…in that order), a “trip to the gutter” has the best (and if He’s allowing it, the only) chance of working to wake us up.  And if we are open to waking up and learning from it, it’ll do exactly what it’s supposed to do. There’s only one place to look when you’re that low.  I believe allowing bad things to happen to us is actually a loving thing for Him to do!  It teaches us what we need to know and where we need to go!  What do you think about that?

Now, if we take this down deeper another level…here we find the purpose of our lives!  Think for a moment what you believe our earthly experience is all about.  Why are we here?  I believe life is all about making a choice. THE choice. The only choice that matters for eternity.  He created us to love Him and for Him to love us…but love is not love if it’s not a choice.  Just like I blogged about not that long ago about respect.  It’s not true respect if it’s not given freely…by our choice.  Neither is love for God (or anyone else.)  He gives us the choice to love and choose Him because He’s not controlling.  He’s not a dictator.  He invites us to love Him.

We can apply this same principle to our relationships by inviting our spouse to love us instead of forcing or manipulating it out of them.  I think we are allowed to pass through this lifetime to get a taste of both love and indifference, good and evil, so that we can make an informed choice about whether or not we want to be with God and love Him for eternity.  That’s the meaning of life…choosing to love or not.  The troubles and heartache are necessary to show us what we’re choosing between.  And sometimes they are necessary to refine our focus when we forget or stray.

So, embrace your heartaches and remember that you don’t have a corner on the market.  We all have hurts.  They take on power and meaning if we learn from our pains.  Know better, and do better!  Find pure joy in EVERY circumstance!  View pain and suffering through the lens of blessing and love.  Know that God will not let us suffer for the sake of suffering.  He will not allow pain that He can not turn into good for ourselves and others.  He will allow brokenness to enter your life to not only teach you, but to help others get to know Him through you, too.  He will also give you the strength to heal, and make those places stronger than ever.

I hope you enjoyed dipping your toes with me into the waters of life-meaning.  Thanks for stopping by!

Nancy Eisenman, MSW, LSW is an individual, marital, and family therapist. She specializes in couples and marriage counseling, individual counseling, group and family counseling. Nancy serves the surrounding areas of Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, Fishers, and Noblesville. E-Counseling available for residents of Indiana.

©2010, Nancy Eisenman