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From Bad to Good

I ran to the ringing phone, trying to beat the answering machine to the call. The young man's voice was familiar, but I mistakenly greeted him as his brother. "No," he corrected me, it was him, it was really him. His voice was a miracle, I hadn't heard it for so long. He's alive, he's not lost! His thoughts sounded clear and his words burst with full joy. I choked back my tears as I told him how I had prayed for him day after day. His life and return now stood as my answer that God answers prayer. He told me he loved me and hoped soon to see me. I hung up the phone with my heart full of praise. . .

At least two years had passed, since I last heard from him. I recalled how when younger, "all my boys" had such fun at the beach. We'd leave before sunrise and stay way after dark. The next day, we'd scramble to get to our church. We'd fill a half row as the praise songs would start. He'd sing with great gusto, his smile so bright! But college years confused him and he seemed to lose his way. He headed solo down the darkest path. He left all his loved ones, he dropped out of life, he stayed out of sight. All those far from him found unanswerable silence, until this very moment now . . .

Life can have such bad times, I have yet to understand. . . Except to say that God sustains the ones who hurt, and grows their faith and hope in Him. His faithfulness extends to us no matter where you run or hide. He's in the blackest pits of life, the silent vacuums, the unfair tragedies and despair. From such bad comes good, from death comes life, from silence comes the voice, "I'm back. . ."

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