IF

I wonder how I would act IF ...
The real IF I mean
Not imaginings amidst the turmoil
Not the questions that come,
that came
and left us with more
of the same.

I wonder ...

Friends, former colleagues
and others I'll never know
are now in the IF.

Pondering how
and why --

Because of the national recession
Because of the nearly statewide natural disasters
-- the flood of '08
-- the tornadoes
Because of decreased sales
Just because
All good reasons, yet
No good reason.

We seek peace
We seek joy
We seek life.

I can say
I can suggest
I can be

As can you
and you
and you.

There is no peace
Not in the world
Only in Jesus Christ

There is no joy
No exuberance
Only despondency
and dismay
in this world
"under the sun."

But in Jesus
there is joy.
Through Him
we can overcome.
He did! He rose from the dead! He's alive!

There is life.
But of what does it consist?

"and you, being dead in your trespasses, ... He has made alive together with Him"
(Colossians 2:13)

Jesus' resurrection renews in us hope and joy and life.

The IF we have coming or are in the midst of now
is NOT The End.

It is an opportunity for new life, a chance to rebuild ... with Jesus at the helm.