Faith can be such a tricky, elusive thing at times. As we fall, stumble, paw, and claw our way up
the seemingly shear ascent of our own personal barriers sometimes the blood and
bruises makes us lose faith in everything from ourselves, to our fellow man,
and even in God.
People have often said to me in tumultuous times that there
is a reason for everything—that God has a plan, and these struggles are a part
of it. I don’t know that I believe this
is true. I think, sometimes, bad things
just happen. And to believe that such
seemingly senseless and terrible tragedies are a part of a larger plan, to me,
almost makes God seem cruel and cold…or it is just someone trying to remove
blame from themselves.
If God is truly the loving, benevolent being that I’ve
learned for so many years about, I cannot believe that He, in is omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence could be so limited as to teach those that love,
serve, and seek to know Him with such a heavy hand.
As a person who has a great appreciation for science and the
arts, I find myself ceaselessly amazed.
When I carefully look at the world around me, I see the painstakingly
complex processes that occur in nature.
Yes, scientifically, many of the natural events can be explained and
even reproduced but the by-product of both the complex and simple interactions is
breathtaking and stunning. Every
interaction—down to the molecular and subatomic, produces something that as
both a scientist and an artist, would take a great deal of care, attention, and
dedication to reproduce. Scientists and
artists alike feel such a connection with that sort of work that it becomes an
extension of themselves. Can you imagine
the kind of love and dedication would need to be invested to create a world,
moreover, all of creation?!
So, I don’t think that the Creator makes these bad things
happen. I don’t believe that any being
would want to destroy the produce of their clearly deep love and devotion. I don’t believe that the Creator of us all
would want us to suffer or labor aimlessly.
Sometimes seemingly illogical and senseless things happen—even
in nature. Things don’t always evolve or
change in the way that we, humans, perceive to be best or ideal. But even then, whether these events are
divinely deigned or not, nothing is lost…ever…it is just redirected…carefully
placed somewhere else…we have only to look closely to find it again.
Although my faith is often fragile, my hope that there is
someone, somewhere, watching over us is constant. And it is in that hope, that I continue to send my prayers and labors up to God. If creation itself is any indication of
the nature of the Creator, although we may not understand how or why the world
and every part of it is as it is, I think we all can take comfort in knowing
that in the end, whatever happens, knowing why will never be as important as simply
knowing that
Life and Creation will always
be precious and beautiful…and none of that beauty is ever gone…sometimes you just
need to look for it in new and unexpected places.
