By the way, your taxes are due. If you are like me and have waited until the last minute, you may have a fun experience at the post office today. I didn’t exactly wait until the LAST minute, I mailed mine yesterday.
A-hem.
You would think that there would be more than ONE person waiting on customers at the local post office on April 14. You would think that every lane would be open and all hands would be on deck since it is one of the busiest weeks of the year for our awesome postal system. Oh No. Not in my county. My county had 1 employee waiting on the line of customers which extended out the door of the building.
We are talking about the US Government here, so I’ll just quit my complaining and move on to why bad things happen.
Why do bad things happen?
If there is a loving God, who loves me so much that He died for me, why does He allow bad things to happen to me?
Why?
We had a dog that we loved dearly. He was perfect (as far as dogs go). He was obedient. He was adorable. He adored my children. He didn’t smell like fritos. He made out lives better. His name was Champ.
He was snuggly, friendly, and everything a dog should be. He made all my children’s hearts soar.
He even won best in show at our county fair.
One morning my oldest daughter was calling him home. As Champ was running across our street to her, he was hit by a truck and killed instantly. My daughter saw the entire thing. She disappeared into the woods where I found her in a pool of tears, anguish, pain and sorrow. There are no words to describe her sadness.
She felt she was the reason Champ died. She blamed herself for his death. Our entire family grieved but no one was as effected like her. She was the one who was calling him as he was killed. For months she couldn’t get that image out of her head. Even today, she still struggles with Champ’s death and why it happened, why she was the one there calling him. Why did God take away her dog. Why did He take the thing she loved so much? Why?
Many of you have been through much more than losing a favorite pet. You are hurting more than my daughter has hurt.
I want you to know that God loves you.
Why does He allow these painful, horrible, bad things to happen if He loves us?
I believe we are not meant to understand everything, but I think I have an idea why God allows these things. Let me explain.
I love my children. I would die for any of them. I love being a mother more than anything on earth. I would rather be with my children than anyone else on the planet (except for my husband…. maybe). When God made me a mommy I realized what I was here to do. I love discipling these little people I have been entrusted with. I love being a mom.
I have one child who becomes entranced with electronic devices. When that child is staring into an Ipad, she is gone. She is in Ipad land. No one is home. You can shout, you can yell her name, you could drive a train through our living room and she would not notice. Only the Ipad exists.
In order to get her attention so she can hear her mommy and be obedient, I take away her Ipad. I take away what she loves. I take away her favorite thing to do. I take it. Because I love her. I take it to get her focused on something more important.
I have a son who complained that his toys were no fun. He griped and groaned about how he had no good toys to play with. He wanted new toys. Instead of buying him new toys, I emptied his room. I took all his toys away. Gone. I took his stuffed animals he loved. I took his fisherprice toys that he loved. I took them from him so he could learn to be grateful. I took them. Because I love him.
My children didn’t understand why I took away the things they loved. They didn’t understand why I made them sad. They didn’t understand why I would cause them to be upset.
As their mommy I know that taking her Ipad would help my daughter hear the train in the living room (or her Daddy talking to her). I also knew that taking my son’s toys away would teach him to be grateful for what he had.
Just as I know what will be good for my children, God knows what is good for us.
We may not see it while we are going through it, but God is working all things out for our good.
He takes things we love. He allows us to hurt. He lets us go through difficult things. It is all because of His love.
As I look back on Champ and that loss I can see now what I could not see then. When we lost our sweet dog it brought my daughter and me on our knees together. It brought us closer. It brought us to the foot of the cross where we cried and prayed. As I watched my children grieve, I prayed for them more often, more consistently and with more brokenness than I had ever prayed.
Sometimes the things we love will be taken from us. Sometimes we need a shake to get us focused on the giver of all these things.
XO,
Candi
