Nothing Can Separate Us

Yesterday's sermon by Justin Grunewald talked about where God's love is when we are facing hardship.  The point was that, bad things happen to everybody, even His own son, and we just have to know that God's love is with us even when we are facing hardship, even when we can't feel it as readily as we can when everything is going well.  Sitting there at church, I thought it was a nice message but not one that was too relevant to me at the time.

This morning at work, my boss sent me an email saying that I am losing a tutoree because he's improved so much that he doesn't think he needs my help anymore.  That's three less hours a week.  I'd already been dealing with the blow of someone withdrawing from a math class because he found it too difficult (that was minus two hours of work), but this?  Aren't they supposed to reward tutors who significantly help a (star) student-athlete improve his grades?  Am I supposed to tutor people fearing that, if I help them too well, they will quit on me?  Five hours a week is a lot of difference to someone who started out with 15 hours.  I went and pleaded to my multiple bosses to keep me in mind if any replacement hours become available.  Then, worries about how I will pay my bills shadowed over me, along with how I will help pay for next semester's tuition, and when I will pay back what I owe friends.

I felt a strong urge to do my usual thing for when "hardship" hits:  text Logan, who is no more than a friend to me now.  But I remembered that I'm supposed to be learning again how to get through life on my own and felt so downcast, thinking, "Life's just too hard to get through on my own.  I wish I still had someone who knows and cares about all my problems."  Shortly after that I remembered yesterday's sermon.

God's love is with me, and nothing can separate me from it.  Today I have just as much blessing and love from God as on those days that automatically cause me to proclaim hallelujah.  Maybe He just wanted to remind me to rely on him.  Maybe he is giving me time to focus more on schoolwork or other good deeds while he takes care of the money.  Maybe he won't take care of the money in my time; quite possibly more "hardship" will come from this.  But one thing I know, he woke me up and led me to church at noon yesterday so that I will be prepared for today and whatever else that may strike in the future.  And that is already an evidence of His ever-present love.  He is in control, and I will never lose hope.  Thank you, God, for your love that is the only constant...

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Romans 3:22-39