Betrayal

Betrayal is a most devastating act, especially when it involves someone we love and trust. I just read a story on a blog about a betrayal of the worst kind, one involving a potential adoptive family. The betrayal came from someone close to the family who made a complaint to the powers that be and ended with...

Well, I won't tell you how it ended. You can read about it here: http://theredneckmommy.com/2008/11/26/the-journey-begins/

The more I thought about the events, the more I was reminded that things are not always what they seem. I see in the immediate, often getting caught up in the injustices and forgetting that our purpose and experience go so much deeper than the tangible.

What I can't see is the shaping of the spirit that is happening because of and in the midst of adversity. What I do see is a growing faith within that all things are necessary. That all things begin and end in love. That nothing warrants judgment that is used to sanctify us.

We are shaped in the darkness. One is used as an adversary for the sole purpose of revelation of the heart and as a means of purification. Adversity reveals what is in the heart by its presence and by our response to it.

Does that mean I celebrate and have a desire for the darkness? For loss? No. It means that I see adversity has purpose. Though one may bring a soul-splitting loss into our life, it is also a great burden for the one through whom the devastation comes. No one has the power to devastate another's life. That power simply isn't theirs. But they are instruments in shaping our spirit.

If I had read this post even 5 years ago, I would not have understood the purpose of betrayal. But now, though I may not fully understand it, I am at peace with it.

What changed?

Perspective.