I have always admired my Aunt Chris. She stands out in a crowd of women for many reasons, two of them being her total selflessness and the way she doesn’t speak poorly of anyone. She loves Jesus, and her life displays His unconditional love.

Right now she and my uncle Ron and cousin Ronnie need prayer more than ever, as they are walking through the fire. You can read about their recent trial here.

As I pray for them, I can’t help but ask God why He is allowing so much suffering to be heaped onto one family. From my perspective it does not make sense. But from God’s perspective, it does. Corrie ten Boom, a woman who suffered greatly during World War II, said that the suffering of the world is like looking at the bottom of a tapestry. God is weaving it from the top down, and He sees the picture developing. We’re looking at it from the bottom up, and we’re seeing all of these tangled threads. It doesn’t look like it’s making any sense at all, but it’s the same tapestry.

This is a good (short) article by John Piper highlighting what the Bible says about suffering and some of the reasons why we suffer in this life. In fact, if you’re interested in the topic, search “suffering” on the desiringgod.org website and you’ll find all sorts of articles and audio messages that teach what God says about suffering.