Irony

Irony is defined as "the incongruity of this".  What is "this"?   Jesus eating with sinners is one example.  Lately,  I tend to think it's me...my life.  God seems to be handing me a lot of situations filled with irony.

Is it possible that God uses irony to teach us lessons?  It certainly seems so.  For instance, He has taken a job I love and made it exceedingly difficult this year.  The kids are tougher than any I`ve faced in my career.  Yes, I work with special needs children; a job I've always been passionate about.   But of late, it just seems like a job.   I've been given so many tasks, the enjoyment I once had has somehow slipped away.  It's taken the flames in my heart and made them smolder.

The teens of today have a sense of entitlement and I find myself wondering more and more, how are they ever going to survive in this world? Worse yet, their parents encourage this behavior.  Sounds harsh but there is a definite irony there; God gave me a heart for special needs kids and I am powerless to do anything to prepare them for the world as we know it.  I can tell them how it is out there in the world but the truth is, they have to learn by experience.  The irony?  One day, they will have to face the world on their own terms as they understand it, and without their parents to help them through it.

What about romance?  Is there irony there?  My personal experience?  I went on dating websites seeking a friend to have coffee with -- perhaps see a movie and share stories.  In short, a buddy; someone to hang with -- not a deep, romance.  Yet, the man I would have that type of relationship with lives across the country.  We talk and share stories but not coffee or movies.  Yet here,  I have found myself in a deep, relationship; one that I wasn't looking for and am struggling with the timing of it all.  Irony?  Definitely.

What about money?  I have worked my tail off for over two years trying to prevent myself from having to declare bankruptcy.  Yet, I find myself in a circumstance where I don't want to but have to...is there some sort of irony at play here?  Absolutely.

What about family life?  It's ironic that when we have our children, we can't wait for them to grow up.  We want them to be productive adults.  Yet, when they leave home and are productive adults, we suffer from "empty nest syndrome".   Cruel irony, in my humble opinion.

What about church?   Is there some sort of irony in churches that we come across people who behave less than Christ-like?   Or that some Christian faiths believe theirs is the only way to get to heaven?  What would Jesus say about that?  We all fall short...one of the biggest ironies of being a Christian, I think.

And so, I find myself hoping that there isn't a cruel twist of irony to every instance in life.  However, the longer I'm on this journey, the more I learn.  God's humor takes a backseat to the fact that he wants us to trust in Him.   We are in the place we are supposed to be at the exact moment that we are here.  We are living in His glory, so regardless of what I think are the ironies in the circumstances of my life?  He's got it covered.

Proverbs 3:5-6  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."