God gives us a story- to see the conclusion of our story we have to ride the roller coaster of emotions of whatever we are experiencing.

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great (transcendent and overwhelming) power and [all His kingly] glory (majesty and splendor).28 Now when these things begin to occur, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (deliverance) is drawing near. Luke 21:27-28

When my kids were little we often read to them their bedtime story from the comfortable Lazy boy chair in the living room. As a father, I  loved that responsibility. It was a chance to bond closer to my children To my children it was a chance for them to relax with a happy thought from whatever children's book we read to them. 

They loved stories

I've learned in time that God is the author and perfector of our stories.  

So often, we forget that when bad things happen in this life. 

 Yet, I am reminded that if we stay the course with our grief, God will reveal to us the epilog of our story, But first, we have to get through all of the pain, abandonment, the emotional wounds. 

A real life novel is like that. The pages of the book take us on a roller coaster ride of emotions,that keeps us captivated to every page. We keep reading until we reached the story conclusion- the epilog.

Our lives are like that.novel.

If we stay the course we will see how all that messiness of our lives fits in God's plan.

This is why I am not afraid to attend funeral services, or what I like to call the celebration of life services.

Yes, it can be very sad to recognize the finality of the person  who has died. Yes, there are feelings that I would rather not conjure up inside me, and yes, I would rather be driving my 2016 rental Ford Mustang on Route 66,

But that isn't the point. The person who's timeline has ended had a life and a story to share with the rest of the world. We may not have known the person who had died, but we get to experience their life through the pictures the family share.

God is the author and perfector of our lives. He is our redeemer and the one who gives us a story to share with the rest of the world. Just as he was able to use the lives of  the people in the bible, he wants to give you a voice and a story to share with the rest of the world- of God's redemption for our lives.

Our job is to cling to the very promises of God and one day we will see how everything fits together.