Wow... what a topic for yesterday's sermon. Admittedly, something that goes through my mind once a day- Lord, if you'd been there, I would have two baby girls instead of one. Lord, if you'd been there, I could have seen Olivia grow up to be a sweet and sassy toddler. Lord, if you'd been there... I could go on forever.
The story is of Mary and Martha and their interactions with Jesus when they send Jesus a message about the illness of their brother, Lazarus and the conversation between them after he has passed away. At different times, both Mary and Martha say- Lord, if you'd been there, my brother wouldn't have died. I can so imagine the depth of emotion in that sentence- the wishing and wishing and lack of understanding about why these things have to happen.
But, perhaps like the Israelites leaving Egypt, maybe I wouldn't have been content with just one miracle, and would have continued to expect the Lord to intervene in every rocky circumstance. Maybe I would have expected a "perfect" life. And like the speaker said, Jesus didn't come to give us a nice life. He came to give us a new life... and when that day comes I'll get to snuggle right up with my baby girl.
