Thursday, December 16, 2004

The one with the "shame on me!"

The other day, I was reading Job, and one of the verses hit me like a ton of bricks.

"We take the good days from God," he says. "Why not the bad days?" (Job 2:4, The Message)

Eugene Peterson, in his introduction to Job, writes accurately that most people are prepared for suffering in one way or another. What most people don't understand is undeserved suffering, like how to deal when a child dies, or if a job is lost unexpectedly.

There are days when I feel so down, wondering if I had made the right decision, looking at people sniff at the magazine and put it down when they read the word "Jesus" or "Bible," wondering if the magazine will really make a difference in the lives of teens and young adults. There are also days when I feel that God is carrying me high, when a new distributor signs on or when a teen emails in and says the magazine is cool.

Shame on me for losing sight of the big picture. I believe God will make His power manifest - through ways beyond me, and in ways I will never understand. Until then, it's push push push all the way, keeping it up, and knowing that teens need lit like this more than ever.

3 comments:

Heffer Wolfe said...

practically speaking every new business suffers a bit at the start. what we can do is to learn what we can from the market and apply it when the next product comes out.

and good results are not always apparent. if it was god who directed you to do this then it's up to him to resolve this problem. we just do whatever we can and the rest is in his very able hands. ;)

Heffer Wolfe said...

i must also add that when a book or a magazine succeeds and becomes a huge hit, say come 4th or 5th issue, all back issues (most esp. the first ones) become valuable commodities and collectibles. just hang in there! :D

Boris Buenavista said...

I am sure that you are glad that God tapped you to help Him spread the good news and help people live a healthy Christian life. Indeed, God will still do many ways to manifest himself.

Ako, I am personally thankful that you put up this magazine. ^_^ Kasi kakaunti lang ang mga Christian magazines out there.

Good luck and more power. Someday I'll contribute to the mag too. ^_^