A few days ago, I went to Elk Grove, the town I grew up in. When my family moved there in 1990, it was considered a small rural, farming community, much how Vacaville used to be. The population was a mere 17,000. Today, it has ballooned to 180,000. I wish I went there for a happier occasion, but sadly, I returned to preside over a funeral of an old friend I had known since the 6th grade. We lost touch after we graduated high school, as relationships tend to do when we move into adulthood. His passing made me reflect on how short life truly is. It's frustratingly fragile. Funerals forces us to confront the hardships of our existence that we normally try to ignore. 

The 17th century, famous French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, poignantly said, “All of humanity's problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” When we sit in solitude and silence, you’ll begin to notice the clanging restlessness that rages within each and every one of us. Silence forces us to confront our inner demons and pain of our lives. We all develop different ways of coping, whether that’s eating, buying more stuff, or the million of other myriad of ways we distract ourselves.

Jesus shows us a better way.