I am struggling (as many people are right now I am sure) to understand and make sense of the wave upon wave of natural disasters that have caused so much devastation in Australia, New Zealand and now Japan. I am so lucky; my home is safe and my family and friends are too. I am going about my daily business, cooking, reading, playing with Pippin, laughing, talking, blogging.
Yet there are people out there who are frightened, homeless, injured, in danger. I can barely imagine what they must be feeling.
If there is a loving God who created us, how can He let these things happen? If they must happen, why to person A rather than person B? What did I do to deserve the many blessings that I currently enjoy? What did someone else do to deserve the loss of their family, their home, their livelihood?
I left the Catholic church of my upbringing a long time ago; I have lived a number of years as an agnostic and even an atheist. Recently I have been trying to find a place for God in my life again. I would like a simple faith, if I could find one. But there doesn't seem to be anything simple about it, in the face of suffering of this magnitude. In fact it even seems more comforting to believe, as Tennant does, that the things that happen to us during our lifetimes are the result of pure chance and not in any way part of some grander design or controlled by any divine being.
Right now I don't know what to think, apart from just being deeply, deeply grateful for the fact that I am alive, safe, and drinking tea while Pippin sleeps upstairs and Tennant plays some questy-adventure game on his computer.
Love,
Verity
There aren't any simple answers to disaster...
ReplyDeleteThe conclusion I've come to is that God created the world to be a certain way...but it didn't stay that way once sin entered the picture. We, as human beings, are different than how He created us to be, and the same is true of the earth...the earth is scarred and imperfect...
I don't know why some people come upon disaster and some do not...but I do believe with all my heart that God can and will work through the disaster and help us find the beauty among the ashes.
It is a sad time for the Japanese people. I only hope that they will call on Jesus Christ and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for help. The two major religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. No help there. Major disasters can occur anywhere, life is uncertain, and death will come to all. God is a very present help in time of trouble. Jesus came to save the world, if they would only come to him. Please read the Bible and pray to find the answers you are searching for.
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