The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10 ESV)

How do you feel about a traffic jam, a leaky faucet, a rainy day, friends moving away from you? I’m afraid to say I list events in two categories: those that make my life easier versus those that make my life harder. If I’m honest, my opinion, really has nothing to do with what is best for another, or God’s plans, but instead it’s often about how it affects me.

A traffic jam makes ME late.

A leak in the faucet makes a mess for ME to clean up.

The rain causes ME to cancel our plans.

I realized this embarrassing concern for self when four friends announced moving plans.  I didn’t like how them moving would change my very comfortable pleasant life.  So what did I do about it? I tried to convince them to stay. Not out of concern for them; out of concern for, here’s that word again, ME.

A friend who wanted a divorce, needed to work harder on her marriage.  Not because I thought it was against God’s will, but because it would make my life and my children’s life less fun. To another friend who had upgrading on her mind, I tried to make a case for the ‘simple life.’ To a third, whose husband took a ministers job in another state, I wondered out loud if he was doing the right thing. To the fourth, moving so she’d be closer to her kid’s school, I didn’t think she should move to make her kids happy.  Of course, she should stay here to make me happy.

We had an obsessively convenient easy life. That’s what God wants for us, right? Isn’t that what we often pray for? I know I did. Give me friends and fun and take all that unpleasantness far away from my galaxy. Whether I realize it or not, I often pray for an easy path.

But God’s plans have nothing to do with play dates and socializing at the bus stop. In fact, God’s plan has nothing to do with an easy life. Instead he promises us an “abundant life” (John 10:10)

So here’s the choice. In one column is the easy life: free from pain and discomfort. In the next column is the abundant life, the rich life, filled with abundance and love.  Which would I chose?

A traffic jam, a leaky faucet, rain, and even friends moving, maybe they don’t belong on a list of things that make my life harder. Maybe they belong on an entirely different list: a list of things that make my life richly abundant.

Dear God,

Give me abundant life, and yes even if it’s harder, messier, and more exhausting.