Getting to Know You

by Linnette R. Mullin

"Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you. Getting to hope you like me…" ~ from "The King and I"

    Do you ever struggle with the God question? If God is real, why…? If God is good, why…? If God really loved me, why…? As Lyme victims, we struggle with the why's of it all. At least, I know I do. And I want honest answers to these questions.

    God has placed me in a state where there is little Lyme and no Lyme literate doctors. Yet, he also placed me in a Church that preaches about the whole character of God. I've spent a lot of time in tears as I've learned more about him. Trying to put all the pieces of his character together can be like working a jigsaw puzzle. I want to understand. I need to understand. I'm tired of living in survival mode with an attitude of acceptance  under duress. I want to "count it all joy" when I face the trials God brings into my life (James 1:2-4), but how can I when I can barely raise my head above water to gasp for air?

    John Calvin once said, "You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy." I want complete joy, don't you? But supreme suffering? No, thank you. I don't like pain. I don't like suffering. Yet I do suffer and there is no end in sight to this suffering. So, what am I to do?

    I've been in this church for three years now. My pastor who just retired spent his time and energy helping us get to know Jesus. I tend to be so internally focused that I forget to focus on God and others and so I don't know him well enough. I think I do, but most of my thoughts about him tend to be based on what I see, hear, and experience rather than on truth. Thankfully, God gave us the Bible - his written word, so we might get to know him and understand him.

    I still don't have all the answers to my why questions, but I do know God loves me and that I can trust him with my suffering, pain, and loss. I also know he has a purpose for it all. I may never completely understand it in this life, but I know he loves me and I can trust him to do what's best for me. I also know that the more I get to know him, the more peace purpose I find in my illness.

    What about you? Do you struggle with the why questions? Do you know Jesus? Are you familiar with his sufferings? Do you have the assurance of God's love to strengthen you and help see you through each trying moment? Do you want to get to know all about God?

    Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." ~ ESV
Let's get to know him… get to know all about him!


Linnette R Mullin is the author of life-changing romance. Her debut novel, Finding Beth, releases late 2013. Linnette is also the founder and director of Palmetto Christian Writer's Network - PCWN, and an advocate for chronic lyme sufferers everywhere.