I am pretty sure there are those out there asking “What happened to Preacher?” And that is a fair question that deserves a fair answer. 2017 was bad enough, trying to help out in my wife’s office while going to school, starting up the VO business etc. 2018 has been inundated with things like three bouts of stomach flu passed through Freya to me, getting the knee finally repaired and the issues that resulted from that, and even a couple of respiratory ailments also passed through my daughter. 2018 has not been a good year.

And now one of my best friends is down after having MAJOR (all caps for a reason) heart surgery and I’m taking over for him at the law office until he recovers. I had planned on doubling up on classes for the Summer to finish off the MDiv program, but now I spread it back out to finish in November while struggling to keep up hours and keep everything flowing. And before you ask, no, it is not my wife’s fault. Rebecca has been incredibly strong through all of this year, only getting sick herself maybe twice and often asking if there is anything she can do to make my life easier instead of asking for more help on things she desperately needs done.

Life isn’t about ease or want. It is about struggle. Even if you don’t believe in God and believe Charles Darwin was an absolute atheist, a follower of Nietzsche before Nietzsche, you must realize that you are basically saying all of life is a struggle to survive and procreate and nothing more. In God’s eyes, however, that is far from the truth. Yes, life is struggle, but we put it upon ourselves. We assumed ourselves to be greater than God and it got us kicked out of Eden. We assumed ourselves to be better than God and, after generations, God passed judgment on lands “full of sin.” God let go of His chosen people when they turned away from them, sent His Son to redeem the world, and yet the world continues to do exactly what those chosen people did…

Complain and gripe about how “horrible” God must be because they struggle and suffer.

Only none of it is God’s fault.

Do you or do you not want free will?

Then who’s fault is it?

When a child is learning to behave, to eat right, to bathe, to brush teeth, and complains, do we give up or do we expect better of them?

We are His children, whether we like it or not, and He expects better of us, yet we turn towards suffering and struggle and complain that it is His fault.

Think about that.

And meanwhile don’t worry about me. I’ll get back out of this time hole eventually and back to podcasting and sermonizing. Y’all just love your families and be good to each other until I return.

This is Longhaul signing off.