Wednesday Wonder

“Why?”

Yep, we have reached that stage in my grandson’s development. He has learned the word ‘why’ and uses it to great advantage. Thank goodness for Google at times. Because Granny has discovered how little she knows why.

Why happens in faith work too. There was the why of the order in which the Bible study groups have been exploring the letters of Paul. Simple answer: Because that was the order the commentaries to help me understand them arrived on my doorstep. Not a great why, but an honest one. I needed time to brush up on my Paul information before trying to help others explore it.

Why do we do worship the way we do? Or why have you changed the order of worship? These are questions I often hear. And yes, I always have a reason if I make a change. I think it is a good reason, whether others agree or not is up to them. Why did we move the Lord’s Prayer to story time for example? Because it is no longer used in schools. How are children supposed to learn it if they don’t even hear it in church? We moved it, taught about it and pray it together every week. We all have a chance to make it part of our lives now.

Why was Wednesday Wonder so late this week? The answer to that is usually because there was a need that arose within the congregation which required my attention before I could write it. Sometimes, because I just was not inspired with a topic to offer before mid-afternoon. And, as you know, sometimes that inspiration doesn’t come until this column becomes Thursday Thunder.

These whys are relatively easy to answer. Some whys are not. There are often whys that are faith related where, like when I am in Granny mode, I have to say, “I don’t know why.” With Damon, I say let’s try to find out together why. I try to do that with all of you who bring difficult why questions too.

The most often asked why question: Why did God let this happen?

My honest answer is usually, “I don’t think that God let it happen. It happened. God is in the midst of it as we journey through it.” Some people don’t appreciate that answer. They want to blame God. That’s okay. God can take the blame if that is where we need to put it.

I honestly believe that God is not randomly selecting us for some sort of difficult time. There is a phrase that my mother often employed when I was lamenting something hard, sad, not fair. She would tell me that “God never gives us more than we can handle.” I never liked to hear that. I did not have a comeback for her for many years. Then it came to me: “Well I wish God didn’t think so highly of me then!”

Since then, I have come to see God not as a supreme being that just likes to mess with our lives. We who inhabit this planet cause many of the things we would like to blame on God. If God just wants to mess with us, then that is not the God I thought Jesus was talking about.

The God of Jesus cries with us in the hard times. The God of Jesus laughs with us in the good times. The God of Jesus walks with us at all times.

No matter what comes, God is in the midst of it with us. God, through Jesus, promised to be with us always.

The question is not why did God let it happen? A better question perhaps, “Why have I forgotten that God is right here with me?”

May God be with you today and every day.