20/20 Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Wouldn't it be nice to know exactly how everything should go, and see how it will all end?

When you see your current challenges, it's difficult to know why you are going through certain struggles.  The same thing happened to the disciples at the triumphal entry.  They knew Jesus would die, and they knew the crowd was acting like Jesus was a King.  They couldn't understand how these two different things could fit into God's long-term plans.

John 12:12-19

The Triumphal Entry
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus
was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet
him, shouting,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat
upon it, as it is written,
"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt."

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

I would love to tell you exactly why we struggle with our teens, and why calculus is so difficult to teach, and why teenagers can be hard to deal with.  I would love to explain why your specific situation is the exact thing needed to create a mature adult with character in the long run. Unfortunately, we don't understand.  We will be able to look back afterwards, though, and say, "Ah ha!  So THAT is why it happened!"  But for now, it's hard to figure out.

Parents have to deal with disappointments.  A child doesn't get into the program, isn't elected as an officer, performs poorly in front of others, or doesn't get admitted into the "for sure" college.  We may not understand why these things happen.  However, one day, when our children are grown and older, we'll be able to look back and see purpose in our disappointments - and the successes.

20/20 Hindsight may be lovely, but if we knew what was happening, would we still learn?  Perhaps our ignorance of the big "why" questions is part of the reason we can learn.  Faith abounds when you don't know the "why" of life.  Faith also reminds us that one day we will know the answers, and see the positive results of our struggles from today.



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