I got a rock.

Do you remember "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"? Charlie Brown and all his friends would go to each house and trick or treat. Each one peeked into their sack telling what they got. Poor Charlie Brown would say, "I got a rock."

Is that how you feel? Never mind Little House on the Prairie, your life seemed to turn out like Charlie Brown's Halloween disappointment. Maybe you are divorced. Maybe your little (or big) family isn't doing so well. Maybe you are embarrassed or afraid.

Does it feel like you missed out in what you hoped your family would look like? Do you have some personal disappointments no one knows about? Does it feel sometimes like "I got a rock?"

People make their observations and you may feel judged. Don't. God isn't like that.  And the only thing that matters is that God is good no matter how many struggles we face. There is a day coming when He promises to wipe away every tear. You can take comfort in that.

Whatever you have gone through, whatever you are going through, be sure that God knows all about it. Why didn't He stop it then? Why did it turn out like this? I don't know. All I know is that things happen in our lives and every one has their story. You can be sure that if your story is very painful, God is keeping close watch on you.

There's lots of challenges, disappointments and difficulties that brings stress and heartache. If your family has fallen apart, God knows all about it. If you are disappointed in some things that did not turn out the way you had planned, God knows all about that, too. 

But what now? you ask. You make the best of it. See, all around you are wonderful opportunities to be discovered and experienced. This morning I heard a bird cheerfully singing outside my window and felt the warm sun through the window. I'm 53 years old and I still smile with such things. They speak to us of hope and newness. It's God's daily love note to the world. 

Be thankful for what you do have and enjoy the good parts of life. Often, God uses some of our situations to show the world that He can do wonderful things. He shapes us through the disappointments that come and always surprises us with something wonderful that we weren't expecting. In other words, God gets it that life on earth is difficult. 

The last chapter of your life has yet to be written. You might as well enjoy it until it is.

Take heart. Carry on.