Life's Incongruity

6 Weeks since my last post - yikes, not intentional nor is it ideal. 

Life has been busy in the Compson household and with our Milford First Brethren Church. I doubt you have interest in my detailing all that has been going on so I'll spare you that. 

But I thought I might share some of the incongruous elements of life I've been noticing recently. 

"Incongruous" by the way is one of those big words that deserves defining. It means "not harmonious, incompatible, inconsistent within itself".

Raising two young boys has plenty of "incompatible" moments. I started latching onto the label "agents of chaos" to describe what it's like. That's probably somewhat unfair though because Stephanie and I love them dearly even if we end many days exhausted. 

But from a fuller perspective it is a satisfying joy to see our kindergartner maturing and behaving well enough at school to be named "Student of the Month". Things like that make his parents' hearts happy for sure. 

T requested I include a picture of his special dog tags he received.

That joy stood in incongruous contrast to what developed over the weekend. 

See, a few weeks ago, my mom flew over to Israel to visit her sister and her family. My aunt and uncle have lived in northern Israel for decades, running a school and serving in a variety of ways. 

And then last weekend the terrorist group Hamas orchestrated surprise attacks, initiating a bloody and awful conflict that is still playing out. The attacks in and around Gaza are well south of where my family is. Still, I do have cousins who are now 'called up' and serving in the IDF. And should the conflict escalate and other nations join in the attacks, my mom, aunt, and uncle will certainly be in real danger. 

So our joy is mixed with concern, even sadness as we read and observe what's going on in this far-away conflict that is hitting very close to home. But even being in consistent communication with my mom, incongruity pops up again. She's giving voice to faith, not fear. They are all praying fervently for peace, justice, and God's protection. A godly serenity though chaos is knocking on their door. 

Could this be a holy incongruity? Things aren't making sense, circumstances are NOT harmonious. 

But God is still good. And Jesus is still on the throne. We can trust him - especially in the incongruity.