Whose Footprints in the Sand?

If there is an omnipotent, loving god then why is there suffering in the world?

Perhaps this is the question someone who plays the victim or pessimist.  The truth is that there a lot of good things that happen too.  Some of my Christian friends tell me that good things are a blessing from God and bad things a God’s way of testing us. A few evangelist preachers claim that catastrophes such as tornadoes and floods are God’s way of saying that she is angry at all the sinning going on.  I refuse to address that last point because I think those individuals are full of crap.

            There are numerous events and actions that cause suffering.  Watching a loved one move away or die may cause sadness.  Being sick with a severe cold or discovering that one has cancer can be trying.  People suffer as a result of divorce, job loss, or home foreclosure.  As mentioned earlier, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes contribute to the suffering of many people.  If we examine these events more closely, people play a role in some of these and nature plays a role in others. Personal tragedies may try an individual and provide an opportunity to grow.  It’s the meaning that the person suffering gives to the event that determines what they learn from it, if anything.

            Does god give someone terminal cancer or cause a car to hit and kill their child to test them?  If one can keep their faith in a benevolent being after having something horrible happen then it says something about faith.  Perhaps its foolishness or maybe it’s a way of keeping positive regard for life even though bad things happen.  Maybe there’s no lesson to be learned other than life can suck sometimes, so deal with it.

            I’m reminded of the poem about footprints in the sand.  That’s were the Lord walks with you and there’s two sets of footprints.  During times of suffering there’s only one set a footprints.  It seems like the Lord leaves us during those hard times.  The poem states that the Lord carries us when we are going through the worst of times.  That’s a good way to look at it.  It’s comforting to believe that when I feel the most alone and disconnected from others that someone or something is there to carry me through. What carries us through these rough times?  It could be God, oneself, our soul or higher-self.

            Some things that happen in life just don’t make sense or seem unjust.  Welcome to life.  We can sit around and whine, or we can do something to make a positive difference.  Whether there’s an omnipotent being or not, good things will happen and so will bad.  There’s got to be better ways of framing the bad. That’s part of my journey.

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