People, including my wife, have accused me of being a pessimist. My answer to them: “I expect the worst but hope for the best.” My wife is an optimist and often encourages me to be less cynical and more hopeful about life. “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” she tells me. My response: “I will light a candle, but I will still curse the darkness while I am doing it!” 

I just do not understand how people can be so optimistic, especially in today’s world. I cannot fathom how those going through trials and tribulations can still utter “God is good.” I especially do not understand Job’s patience; after all, he endured and lost so much, and yet he still professed his faith in God. I would be cursing at God, at the world, at everyone around me, yet Job continued to trust God. I know people like this in real life, too. My high school best friend, Julie, lost her dad to cancer when she was in middle school, her mom to cancer, and her husband to cancer, yet she still has an unshakeable faith in God. She is not perfect, but her faith still amazes me. 

My wife had a life-saving heart transplant 14 years ago. We later met the donor’s mother. As we talked, we learned that the mother was a devout Christian. We marveled at the similarities between my wife and her daughter; they were about the same age and had a son of roughly the same age. She then declared, “God’s will that your wife would receive my daughter’s heart!” and began to refer to Vicki as her new daughter. 

Vicki and I still marvel at her remarkable faith in God. I wonder if, in her position, I would feel the same way. She tragically lost her daughter and grandson in a house fire, yet she still maintained her faith in God. The fact that the daughter’s heart was still beating in Vicki’s body, enabling her to care for our toddler son, brought her great comfort. Afterwards, we exchanged Christmas cards and photos until we received a letter from her family informing us that the mother had died in a car accident. We look forward to seeing her again and to meeting her daughter and grandson in heaven.

Although I am a pessimist, I still place my hope and faith in God, believing that He is ultimately in control. However, I sometimes wonder about this when things go wrong, especially when it seems the world is losing its mind, but then I remember Isaiah 41:10: ‘Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God is always with us, no matter what, and if we put our faith in Him, He will help us through good and bad times. We need to keep leaning on the everlasting arms of God and trusting that He will never forsake us and will be with us until the end.

Take care,

Bill R.