My dog is old. She's fifteen, and if it's true that 1 year is like 7 dog years, that makes her, wait a minute...105 years old. Yes, my dog is old. And she, like all of us at some time or another, is presently modeling cruel absurdity to me. She's been given to pacing lately. She goes up and down stairs repeatedly, many times in a row, as if she keeps forgetting why she traveled from one place to the other. I'll be in the middle of giving her treats, something will distract her, and I'll be left with half a piece of American cheese in my hand and no dog begging me for it. Last night as I was sitting on the couch reading, she walked dozens of laps around the coffee table, her nails clicking on the hard wood floor, annoying me to the point I would have locked her in the basement if I didn't feel the guilt that comes with thinking that she could die at any time. About a week ago, she jumped on the couch, and then being scared of the height, in order to get down she jumped into a pile of presents, which of course gave way beneath her, which of course left her scrambling, knocking ornaments off of the Christmas tree and shepherds out of the nativity. We opened crunched packages this year.

Dogs getting old and dying seems cruelly absurd to me. As do broken relationships, intentional violence, natural disasters, careless accidents, infertility, homelessness, ethnocentrism, thoughtless words, and destructive gossip. Yes, good can come out of these, and that's all proof to me that God still holds the key over this world. People say that without hurt there would be no healing, without loss what appreciation would we have for what we possess. And I agree that trials are acts of God's providence in our lives, drawing us seek after Him. But, isn't it absurd that we wouldn't already seek after Him? Isn't it absurd that we wouldn't trust Him in the first place?

Suffering is commonplace in this world. Watching my dog get old makes me think of how much has changed since she was a puppy - people have died, houses have burnt down, divorces have been finalized, friendships have been severed. Within each sad story there are hundreds of others. People sometimes ask why there is suffering in the world. I don't know. I know it doesn't make sense. I know it seems absurd. But sin is absurd, isn't it? Affairs, gossip, all of it - it never does anyone any good, it causes more suffering than satisfaction, yet we continue to do it anyway. And that first sin of creation was absurd. Trust the Creator who has never done you wrong or trust the one with the chip on his shoulder? Take advantage of abundance, or desire the one thing you can't have? And absurdity has followed over sense.

It's not always going to be this way. You know that pain that is so great it feels like your entire body cannot contain it - it's not always going to be that way. The heartbreak of a failed relationship - when that person you were sure you were going to marry has second thoughts - it's not always going to be that way. People dying, growing senile, losing dreams, harsh disappointment, hunger, hate, violence, all of it. It's not always going to be that way.

Perhaps my favorite verse: 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be their God. He will wipe every ear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away'- Rev 21:3-4

I desire something to look forward to - there it is. Death, mourning, crying, pain - all gone. Even memories won't cause pain. Let the dwelling of God be with men, and let us be rid of the absurdity we have caused.