Stairway to Heaven

Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to the place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it [or "beside him"] and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac ; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you."

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it." And he was afraid, and said, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

- Book of Genesis (28:11-19) -

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When we read history like this we feel as if we are flowing in the stream of past time. Amazed by its miracle that somehow deep down inside we assume that wonderous thing like that happened only at the ancient time.

It's true we don't see anyone split the ocean like Moses did. Nor a person build a huge ship on the peak of the hill like Noah did. But is it true that God stops creating wonders?

A friend of mine answer this question firmly, "Of course no! We see a late stage of cancer patient get cure miraculously, a man saved from a hurricane, and so on..and so on..." Well, in that case, let me ask straightly, what kind of God's wonder exactly do you experience in your life? Then, this friend of mine kind of taking a pause before hitting any reasonable answer of what so called by 'wonder'.

Here's the good news, wondrous thing happens every single second of our life! It is lies in everyday life. In the midst of our daily activities. It is in our life, having a wonderful family, a job of our life, our friendly neighbour...and so on...you can add it easily. But, here's the catch! It also lies in our loneliness, misfortune, divorce, bad relationship, car wrecked, uncomfortable working environment, boring life, annoyed neighbour ...and again you can also add it up easily.

Both happiness and sorrow present inseparably in our lives as a "ladder" to go up high above. It's a Jacob's ladder in our time. There is absolutely nothing's wrong with our life, because He has created it with such an amazing precision and wisdom. Only we have to set our point of view to get in line with God's plan.

Therefore, embrace your life, be grateful for a joyful things God has bestowed on us, and live all your pain and discomfort situation patiently. Only with Shabar (patience) and Shukur (gratefullness) should we be able to get through this life with peace.