Life is filled with pain, but it's also filled with joy, for as many despairing tears as I've cried, I've just as often laughed with glee. It can hurt to lie down and be harrowing to wake up, yet when I'm awake, it feels good to see the sun at its zenith in the noonday, and the moon shining amongst the stars at night; to watch the clouds float through the sky and count the rays of sun poking through the cracks, to feel a gentle breeze and catch the cottonwood seeds sailing by. It is good to smell the flowers in the spring, and to admire the colors of fall. There are times when the summer is too hot and burns the skin; there are others when the winter is too cold, and it numbs the joints; but there is a temperate period that brings warmth to the soul. Too much food is not good, and neither is too little. Too much wealth can be troublesome, and so can too little. In the same way, too much pain is a heavy burden to those who must bear it, but too little guarantees that the foolish will remain ignorant, and the ungodly irreverent. Heaven resides above and Hades underneath, but the earth is suspended between both. The Advocate bears witness on one side while the Adversary scoffs on another, yet still every man must give account.
God lavishes riches on some, and calls others to a life of suffering. He cuts out a plot of land for some, and others receive Him as their portion. He gives away in marriage to some, and others He reserves for a life of abstinence. Who can decipher the ways of God, or explain His thoughts to another? He measures the depths of the abyss, and calculates the breadth of the heavens. He stands as the Head of Days, and rests on the Seat of Eternity: He is Judge of the Universe, and extends to all according to His perfect knowledge; the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away... He shows mercy to whom He is willing, and judges whom He will judge. Sometimes He speaks an answer, and other times He chooses silence. No one can place His heart on a balance and respond with the weight; no one can examine His mind and number His thoughts. He is enthroned as Holy One, and answers to no man. For these reasons, life can be a mystery, and the pain of it a constant pondering, but there will come a day where all sorrow will end, and God will wipe every tear from our eyes. I will therefore wait patiently for His coming. In Jesus's name, Amen.
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