The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 1:21b NKJV

Few things are as soothing for me as watching waves crash on a beach. But the seamless shoreline of peace and harmony can only be created by an endless cycle of giving and taking. You have to have both, or it doesn’t work. No giving, and you have a desert. No taking, and you have a tsunami. The consequences of nature’s balance being disrupted can be absolutely devastating.

The same is true in our own lives, as well. We’re so quick to thank God when He gives and so quick to give Him “the silent treatment” when He takes away. But He already knows what is so hard for us to accept… The giving makes space for new taking, and the taking makes room for new giving. Love is an endless cycle of fresh surprises, griefs, and joys that make life real.

Learning to keep our hearts open can be such a painful process. Closed fists make it harder to lose old loves… But they also make it more difficult to receive new blessings. In His infinite kindness and wisdom, Our Heavenly Father will still pry our fingers open when needed, but He longs for the day when He doesn’t have to… For the day we finally trust Him with open hands.

Hannah