For our Good!

We have taken all three children to receive their immunizations when it was appropriate. Matthew always went and goes willingly. As the needle entered his thigh, he howls and gives us the look, "Why did you do that to me?" I wished I could help him understand that the inoculation would protect him from disease for the rest of his life. Though Matthew could not have understood those words when he was a baby, he felt our arms cradling him and heard the soothing tone of our voices. Same applies to Alice and Nicholas.

I think I am much like a child when it comes to the things God brings to me for growth and protection. As a child of God, I often experience pain and confusion. I question God's wisdom. Certainly, with the loss of Nicholas, I have wondered "why", "what is next", and "why doesn't the church help so many of these children?" But God will never forsake us. Even when I don't understand what is happening, I feel God's comforting touch and hear God's love through the words of scripture.

God does not cause the bad things to happen, but God can work through our circumstances to bring about good, to strengthen us, to bring us closer to other people and to God, to prepare us for service. So we can give thanks in all things, even in our suffering. Then I remember Paul's words to the Corinthian Church...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

Still waiting...but feeling the arms of God holding us tight in this time of sorrow...you know I love ya, Don