Jumanji

I have the absurd privilege to head out of town once a year with a bunch of moms for a weekend at the beach… no kids, no spouses, just women. I look forward to this all year long, and am beyond thankful to be a part of this group of ladies. It is nonstop laughing, so much so that I typically leave with sore abs.

As the sun started to set on the beach, (after a wild encounter with a pelican and an epic rainbow), the wind died down enough for the biting flies to unleash their fury.

The contrast of the breathtaking beauty of nature, and this awful tiny creature that attacked our legs was enough to make my friend wonder aloud, “Why in the world did God make these awful bugs???”

I replied back, “Girl, because the world is broken!”

We pondered that for a minute before being chased inside by the bugs and an incoming storm… but I kept thinking about it later that night, and I had this thought.

Our beautiful and broken world is a lot like Jumanji… Much like in the game where chaos is unleashed in wild ways, the curse of the fall of mankind has unleashed chaos that pulls us away from the beautiful created order. Things are not as they should be. We feel this in the brokenness of our bodies, relationships, and culture at large… and while we struggle in the midst of this, we have hope that is it not all in vain. We have hope that game will come to an end, and all the sickness, sadness, chaos, pain, death, and defeat will all get sucked back into the spiritual “Jumanji board,” and everything will be restored in perfect harmony. We get to see glimmers of what is to come, and this fuels our hope for the days when darkness seems to be prevailing. Take heart if you’re in a season that feels like monkeys ransacking your kitchen, friend. It’s not for nothing, and I believe that to my very core.