I had a love/hate relationship with Bob Bender.  I hated to start my bending therapy for the day and I loved when my time with Bob was over.  As I got to thinking more about my love/hate relationship with Bob, I remembered other things I had this relationship with too. It was there in exercise, sweets, helping with homework, seasons, as well as growth and yes, even in obedience.

While each have its “perks”, they also have things that I dread or do not like about them. I hate to exercise but love the benefit it gives to my mind and body. I love sweets but hate how they make me feel when I have consumed too much. I don’t like to help in homework because of the grasping I feel when I try to find a way to communicate the process to my child but I love when they grasp the understanding  and with renewed strength can move forth on their own. I love the changing seasons, each has their own beauty but they also carry things I don’t like such as ice, extreme heat, mosquitoes, and extreme cold.

Just as with the changes in seasons, my life goes through seasons. Growth can be painful and there are seasons that I just want to rush through because they are hard to bear, explain and endure. Obedience is key to my growth and it is required in these difficult seasons.

There are other seasons that I just want to hold close to my heart in memories, accomplishments, smells, not wanting to change or forget and linger in the beauty of it all. There is no more growth in these seasons just warm, sweet thoughts, that are blessings in the outcome.

As my thoughts continued, this love/hate relationship unfolded before my very eyes and their connections became priceless. The very things that I can’t bear, explain, or feel that I can’t endure become the very things or seasons that I cherish and hold dear to my heart. They are that very moment when God reveals and shows me the reasoning behind the struggle, that unfading beauty shining through the ashes of life.

I may not understand the reasoning in the process of many things but I do know and take comfort in knowing that all things, good or bad, work together for my good. (Romans 8:28). Sometimes the revelation may take longer for me to understand but I must remember to be obedient to the One who is in control and trust Him in the process of it all. It is in Jesus, that my likes, dislikes, “don’t want tos”, and even my “I’d nevers” come forth in the ashes of life to reveal their beauty in my growth and obedience to the One who saved me.

With Bob Bender I knew the outcome and understood the process. In this life, I may not always understand the process. I will have many trials and sorrows but I do know the outcome and I take heart in knowing that He has overcome the world. (John 16:33).