Loss/gain

Addiction is a fascinating subject to me. How do people deal with pain? Do they self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, cut themselves, find solace in other unhealthy things? I self-medicate in a lot of ways. I escape to check email or blogs, I push down feelings instead of accepting or dealing with them, I plan a night with a friend to escape loneliness, in short, I replace my losses with other things besides the Lord.

But here's the thing: earthly loss is heavenly gain.

What I lose here on earth, I gain in heaven.

If my wants are not fulfilled, if I lose a friend, if I miss my family, if I can't take one more day of disciplining five children, then my gain is running to the Lord, looking for His comfort and in the end my losses give me heavenly gain.

What do I love? What am I replacing my time with? What am I doing to make me feel in control?

It may shock us for the moment. We may feel hurt, outraged, desolate, helpless. That is our humanity. But the Lord can show us the "long view," the incalculable gain in spiritual and eternal terms, if we love Him above all. Everything that belongs to us belongs also to Him. Everything that belongs to Him belongs also to us. What, then, can we finally lose? If we lose not Christ Himself, we have finally lost nothing, for He is our treasure and He has our hearts.

~Elisabeth Elliot