An Open Letter to the Buried
March 2, 2010
photo by photobucket.com
I’m fortunate enough to get my fair share of emails throughout the day, and from all sorts of people—family, friends, those who are not yet friends but will be, and so on. I like my emails. It’s nice that people think enough of me to drop me a little note to say hello or thanks or please.
Lately, the ones most on my mind are the ones who say please.
As in, Please pray for me. Please help. Please listen.
Though I don’t often do this, I blame the times. It’s the world’s fault, a place that each day seems to spin a little farther from straight and bends a bit more crooked. Life has gotten much more difficult for a lot more people in the last few years. I have sixteen pieces evidence to that fact in my inbox.
There is sickness and death. Jobs lost and homes gone. Hearts broken. Hopes dashed. Love failed. There is fear and anger and sadness. Dark souls and darker futures. And hanging over them, pushing down, is one question that may go unsaid but is never unfelt:
Why is God doing this?
“This” can be best explained by a friend who wrote to say that his job of twenty years would be no longer in less than a month. His house will surely go soon thereafter. His wife cannot work due to health issues, which has already emptied their savings. Their furnace is on the fritz, and the last snow damaged the roof of their home.
“I’m not sure we can pull out of this one,” he wrote. “I feel like I’m being buried.”
I wrote him back as well as the sixteen others. Yes, I said, I will listen. And pray. And help all I can. But then I wondered about all the other people out there who were feeling buried themselves. What would I say to them if they decided to write, too?
I thought about that, which didn’t take very long. I’ve had a lot of experience in feeling buried. So if such a letter would drop into my inbox, this is what I would say in return.
Dear Buried,
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly life can turn. How we can be going along steady and straight and then suddenly find ourselves in places both unfamiliar and dark. We can neither go forward nor back for fear we’ll get lost even more, and so we’re left to sit there motionless and hope the clouds eventually break.
We’re taught the principle of What Goes Around Comes Around from an early age. Many of the troubles in life are the result of neither God nor the devil, but of our own poor choices. And while that’s true, there’s no denying there are plenty of troubles that are beyond our own doing. I’ve always thought those were the worst troubles to have. Those are the ones that will make you fear life and dread tomorrow. That make you wonder not only what’s coming next, but that there isn’t much you can do about it.
The more religiously inclined would say now would be a good time to trust in your faith and your God, and I would agree in principle. But while those words might be easy to say, they can be pretty hard to put into practice. Especially if, like me, you’ve caught yourself thinking He either has too much to do or too much to keep an eye on. Because it sure seems as though He lets a lot of things slip through the cracks sometimes.
He doesn’t, of course. I know that. You know that, too. But knowing it and understanding it? Well, that’s just not the same.
If there’s a good thing about enduring one’s fair share of suffering, it’s the wisdom that comes on the other side of it. And since I’ve endured my fair share, this is what I offer:
You’re right to feel like you’re in a deep hole and there’s no getting out. That it’s dark and damp and cold. That you can’t get out. It’s right to feel as though scoop after scoop of more of the same is being tossed on top of you.
But God is not burying you.
God is planting you.
He is sinking you into this world, not as punishment, but so you may grow and blossom and bear fruit. So you may offer shade and rest.
And so He can prepare you to not only be good, but also be good for something.
Best,
Billy
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47 Responses to “An Open Letter to the Buried”
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I’m a writer whose first novel, Snow Day, will be published by FaithWords in 2010.
But don’t let that fool you. I’m just as confused as anyone.
And that is fine with me, because the great thing about wandering around in the fog is that you never know what you might run into.
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“But God is not burying you. God is planting you.
He is sinking you into this world, not as punishment, but so you may grow and blossom and bear fruit. So you may offer shade and rest.
And so He can prepare you to not only be good, but also be good for something.”
That’s just – Wow – Amazing.
very powerful revelation … thank you
How did you know I needed this today? I am buried beneath a mother’s woes and it is such a grace to hear that this “planting” will yield fruit. Thank you. God bless.
pretty encouraging words.
Profoundly said! Amen to all that! Love your heart and its tenderness toward others. Ah…. if I could save the world………………………………….. but no, that’s why my Savior came! Thank God, He still saves…… even when we can’t see His hands working in our dark!
What a powerful word picture–that we aren’t buried, but planted. Great perspective.
Oh, that is GOOD, Billy! “God is not burying you. He is planting you.” That’ll preach!
Great post Billy. LOVE the idea of Him planting you, but burying you! Fantastic.
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A new take on dirt that only you can deliver, Billy. Thanks for the letter – needed that today..
“But God is not burying you.
God is planting you.”
Amen.
I’m going to hold on to that word picture, Billy. I’ve never thought of it exactly like that, and now I always will. Thank you.
Beautifully said. Hope you don’t mind if I link to it on my Facebook profile. It’s worth sharing.
Fantastic! I often feel that writing and stories like this have come to me on its way to someone else. Like you, I have several people in my life that need to hear this right now. Some of that spirit-led wisdom from you is about to be spread around in northeast Ohio.
what katdish said
“But God is not burying you.
God is planting you.”
Amen dude, amen.
“But God is not burying you. God is planting you.”
Perfect.
Nice imagery.
YES. Such new way thinking. Thank you.
Next time I feel like I can’t take one more thing, I’m coming back here to read this again. Thank you.
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Ironic I saw this today on the same morning God showed me the fruit of some of the last 10 years of pain. I wouldn’t have believed you until this morning but I can say without hesitation you’re right on the mark here.
I’m feeling duly planted. And, maybe if I stretch my neck a little further, I can feel the sun on that new sprout of me poking out of the ground. Thanks for the encouragement!
This is one of the most amazing posts I’ve read in a very long while. I hear the endless cries of desperation through my ministry, ScriptureNow.com. I have found that God’s amazing grace meets those in need each and every time they cry out to Him. It may not be in the way that they were expecting, but God shows up. Nothing is too small of a problem for God…ALL things are small to God. He may not always change our circumstances, but He will change us. And ANYTHING that drives us to the foot of His Cross is worth any trial or tragedy that we may have to go through. When we’re looking to God…what we perceive as an “ending” is simply HIS “beginning.”
VERY Holy Spirit filled post…it was a GREAT blessing!
In Him,
Cherie
Whew. That was GOOD!
what katdish and Kim said – this will be a great encouragement to many – thanks Billy!
I love your image of us being planted. I am a gardener so that image doubly resonates with me. I discovered you thru following Katdish, and started following this blog today.
Beautiful post for struggling people, and things can turn on a dime, as you say.
Wow. That last sentence really hit hard. In a good way.
It’s wonderful you can make it to the other side of being buried and can offer the comfort and encouragement to those who are in the thick of it.
I’m so glad you are here in the blogosphere – - and soon to be in print, Billy.
You write courageously and always from the heart.
This is so . . . deep. And to think God knows exactly the depth that each one of us requires in order to flourish. And the pruning we need to bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit.
On December 27, 2003, I heard “It’s a large and agressive tumor. The survival rate is two years. I’m so sorry”. This was in reference to my 3 year old daughters odd symptom which landed us in an ER. I. Was. Buried.
On my knees (literally) I told God I would accept whatever He was about to allow to happen to us. I wouldn’t like it, I wouldn’t understand it. But I would accept it.
Today, my 3 year old is a healthy, thriving, precocious 9 year old. She’s cancer free. My burial, was a planting. I see that so vividly now. I thank God for that planting every single day. Every single day.
This was amazing Billy. Thank you.
Like you said, hard to live out, but a great perspective…
I just blogged on that very same truth. I enjoyed your open letter. Glad that it is encouraging so many.
This speaks volumes to me. Thank you Billy for sharing.
Perfect. He refines, doesn’t He? What a great picture of that.
Thank you.
Thank you, Billy.
Posting to my facebook page and sharing with my family. Very timely, indeed.
Billy, I’m becoming a fan of yours more and more. You have a way of relating in a powerful way and say what so many are thinking, but can’t find the words for expression.
Today’s post is no exception. I’ve been planted more than once, but surprisingly (to me, not God), the roots have remained supple and thirsty, and while there might not be anything but winter’s bare branches visible at times, I know spring is on the way. Hope. That’s all we can offer, and you do it so beautifully.
Thanks.
Loved it. Shared it as far as my network abilities go.
Thanks!
Billy,
I think those are the wisest choice of words we can offer a hurting world that is questioning whether or not God is on the throne anymore of if He even cares. You said it well. Those of us that have been through those storms just have to remember if you want to make a cracked pot that has been dried out better, you have to add a little water. Once the clay is soft again, you can mend that crack into something better and stronger than it was before.
God is our maker, and our trials and sufferings are that water. We are the clay. Nothing that happens to us, doesn’t pass through God’s hands first. He is aware of it all, and has gone through it right there with us.
Death of a child? God lost one too!
Gossip, lies about us and our families? God dealt with those when Jesus lived here among us.
Going through difficult times and wondering where God is in all of it? Jesus asked that very same question in the Garden of Gethsamane.
Being abused and beaten? Jesus even dealt with that
Friends and Family abandoning you? So did Jesus, when He died He was all alone.
As you can see, God sent His son to us that we would have a great understanding when we pray that what we go through, Jesus has already been there, done that, and succeeded. By following His example, so can we!
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
WOW!!! exactly!
Well said.
Melanie
(honey i’m home….blogger.com)
This has left me speechless….you will never fully understand how much I needed to read this today. Thank you.
Oh …. wow.
I’ve been feeling a bit “buried” lately. Surely, something will sprout. Thank you for the reminder.
You are a blessing, Billy.
Thank you. Good word, perfect timing.
Fabulous!
The role of a Christian councelor is to give hope. You’re doing just that: giving hope to the buried. Beautiful and fresh imagery.
May you be blessed as you bless others!!!
Wow Billy. What a great post. I have definitely been feeling buried these days and like things just keep getting piled on and piled on without any end in sight. This post definitely puts it into perspective.
Thank you again for sharing what you learned today.
All I can say is Wow and thank my friend Snady for sharing this on facebook. I needed to hear this.
I’ve always thought it’s silly to blame God for everything bad that happens to us. If God controlled everything, we’d have no freedom. We are all allowed to make choices which carry consequences that affect ourselves and each other. Thanks for validating my position.
I love the planting idea! That’s just beautiful and spot on. Thanks for a bit of hope!
Thanks so much for the positive spin on living life. My husband is a Bishop, and I think this concept will be helpful for him as he counsels with those who feel they are being buried. I picked up your blog from my sweet daughter-in-law and I’m very grateful that I did.
Dear Billy,
There is pain in growth. I don’t believe God gave flowers feelings (He never wrote that plants were alive, that’s a scientist’s concept) but if they had them, I wonder what it would feel like for a seed to break open and then push up through the ground. There’s a reason it goes so slowly. No way could such a weak plant push all that dirt aside quickly. The oak is big enough but no longer has to. It’s the seed that has to do that.
Then again, I don’t entirely wonder what it feels like. I’ve felt it. All too many times. Isn’t it strange how one analogy can fit so many different parts of our lives? We never finish growing, getting burried, growing again. Well, of course there’s no perfect analogy for our lives. And there’s danger in taking any one too far. But still, there’s comfort in knowing each time that I get burried that I will be nourished by the same Living Water and the same Son that helped me grow through every previous trial.
Thanks,
Planted