Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
I doubt there has ever been a human being who believed in a higher power of any sort and was not disappointed in that power at some point.
I’m not talking about stuff like not getting a coveted house or job or yet again not winning a lottery. I’m talking about the hard, hard things, tragedies that come out of nowhere: freak accidents that leave us or loved ones less than whole physically or mentally. Breathtaking betrayals by those we trusted completely. Where, you
might ask, is God in any of that?
The words of the wise Sirach (2:10) light the path, I think: Consider the generations long past and see. Our personal Via Dolorosa can seem too much to bear in the moment. But time is not only the great healer but also the great illuminator. We adjust the cross’s weight on our shoulders and move on in belief.
And someday, perhaps not as far down the road as we expected, we see the value. We see we have become more patient, less judgmental, a better listener, a stronger advocate that we were before. In some way, we see, love has resulted from what happened, whether it was divinely sent or the result of evil or chance.
While we were disappointed then, today the burden is part of life and does not seem quite so heavy… because He is helping us carry it. The disappointment fades, and in its place comes joy and trust.
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