Sat with family and friends at a funeral yesterday, and read these words in the little folder they have by where you sign in at the funeral home —

God hath not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Those four lines are painful reminders of some harsh realities.  Too many people have missed these truths.

Or maybe they’ve been mislead by some of us, well-intentioned though we might have been.

Maybe we ourselves have dreamt that following Jesus means nothing but blue skies, pretty flowers, perpetually San Diego days, and a giddy godliness.

We know better.

Like a song says, “Life happens.”

There’s a conclusion in this little funeral home folder, picking up right where the first part stops —

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

Amen.