QUESTIONS

I have gone through life asking many questions.
Why this? Why that?
How come? When is it coming?
How much longer?
Life is full of questions. At times, we receive answers, and other times, the questions remain unanswered.

If you have ever lost a loved one, whether it be a family member or a dear friend, you wonder why? Why now? Why them? That kind of question is most likely not answered. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for why things happen. They just do. 

We can't anticipate or plan for certain events that happen to us, or to someone we care deeply about. Oh how we wish we could. To have a heads up would be nice, wouldn't it?
The world throws things at us that we never expected. We watch cruel and inhumane things happen to our fellow brothers and sisters throughout the globe. We wish we could help. We would do anything to alleviate their pain. We can send money for relief efforts but we would rather be there on the ground helping out.

Life is unfair. Scott Peck, in his book, 'The Road Less Travelled" begins with the sentence :"Life is difficult". 
Seriously, who would want to keep reading after that start. Yet, millions did. I imagine that if we lived by thinking that life was difficult, that when bad things happened, we would just remember and venture on.
 For me, it has never worked like that. 
I remain surprised, filled with angst and act as if I believe something so terrible could never happened. I've lived through 
John Kennedy's assassination, and his brother Bobby. I was horrified when Martin Luther King Jr was gunned down. I actually was watching as the Challenger exploded. Was glued to my TV when the towers were hit. Felt grief stricken watching the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina devastate lives and land. Was shocked to hear the 200+ girls taken by Boko Harem in the middle of the night. And now, countless deaths at the hand of ISIS.

Yes, Scott Peck was correct.
But now what? How are we to respond? What are we to do?
Where do we turn?
The only place I can turn in times like this is to THE ONE who created life, God. He might not give me  answers. But I guess I can hurl my anger, vent my frustration, question why? Wonder if He saw or cares? That in itself gives me some kind of comfort.

But where do you go? How do you make sense of the terrible things, the loss of loved ones, the failure of your marriage, the rebellion of your children, the loss of your job, the death of your dreams?
We all need that place of safety.
I have this picture in my mind, that when I am so upset or hurt, that I become the little girl I remember and climb up into God's lap and just let him hold me. I don't picture God specifically, its just the safety and protection that He gives to me that brings some comfort, some solace.

In the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus says:
      " Do not let your hearts be troubled.
          Trust in God, trust also in Me."   
Who do you trust? Who do you turn to? Who comforts you?  
Where do you find the peace you so desperately crave?

If you don't have a place to go, may I suggest you give God a try?
Grab a bible. If you don't have one, go online to www.biblegateway.com and look up the Gospel of John.
Start reading at the beginning and hear the Words of Jesus, who is the Son of God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Then you can decide if He is worth trusting.

In these troubling times, the one thing I can vouch for is that this won't hurt, and for me and countless others, God and Jesus is where we find our peace.