Dear Kitty,

By The Mind Filled on August 9, 2012 • ( 0 )

Dear Kitty,

My kids ask a lot of questions and I always have to be on the top of my game. Sometimes when I don’t know the answer, I wing it.

Q: Why do leopards have spots?

A: The spots essential for its survival as it helps the leopard camouflages itself with the savannah landscape, enabling it to catch its prey.

Q: Why is the sky blue?

A: The sky is blue because of the way the Earth’s atmosphere scatters light from the sun.

Q: Why do I have to eat my broccoli?

A: Studies have shown that people who eat lots of vegetables (and fruits) are less likely to have certain illnesses and health problems.

Q: Why can’t I mail a letter to Santa in July?

A: Because Santa is beach hopping with Mrs. Claus and the mailman can’t find him. He’s getting some sun and relaxation.

Q: Why does God make bad stuff happen and not answer prayer?

A: …….

Yeah, there is that one. I hate that question (and others similar) because it begs me to answer with my faith rather than my mind and that’s a toughie to do sometimes.

When I am weary, overwhelmed, grieving, etc. this question is almost impossible. When I watch the news, when I have a friend that is suffering, when my own prayers meet silence…Yeah, those times.

Here is what my faith tells me and I hope it rings a little true with your own heart.

God doesn’t make bad stuff happens. That is a side effect of Earthly life.

Earthly life is a constant parade of happiness, disappointment, suffering and death ( and a million other emotions and actions ) It is the consequence of not being a puppet to an unseen master. It’s living with no strings to dictate our next move. Each action is directly a result of the big and small choices we decide.

Bad stuff happens but not because some celestial Deity has pinpointed us out to suffer. It happens because that’s life. (Yes, it is that simple of an explanation)

Now this prayer thing…As humans once we accept that there is a higher being that rules in the Heavens, we vainly believe that the purpose of prayer is for God to acknowledge our longings and perform miracles for us as answers.

Prayer is not about YOU. Prayer is not about the RESULT but the RELATIONSHIP.

Try to think of it this way…God is omnipotent, right? Your life until your death is already known by him, right? So when you are praying about a situation, He already knows what the Earthly answer will be. The purpose of the prayer is not to switch the final answer, but to develop a relationship of love and faith to provide comfort through situations. To trust that regardless of what we are going through, we are loved and God desires to hold us through life.

Sometimes we hear of a miracle happening and someone’s plea to God resulting in a big, fat answer to the positive. Then we look at our own situation and ask, “Why?” Because we haven’t had a miracle we start to doubt whether God even hears us or if He even exists.

I look at it like a father. Nature produces storms, fear creates boogie-men and choices produce skinned knees. The storms,boogie men and the skinned knees are inevitable. That’s life.

God’s role comes in as the father. Small children when frightened by the storm run to their father. Not because he can make the storm disappear, but because he can comfort them until it is over. Small children run to their father when they see a boogie man in their room. Not because he can prevent boogie men from popping up in the future, but because he can show them there is nothing to fear when he is there and he provides them (through his wisdom) mental skills to battle their fear. Small children run to their father when they fall off their bike and skin their knees. Not because he can erase the boo-boo, but so that he can bandage it up and kiss the pain away.

God knows the bad stuff that is going to sneak into your life. His only desire through prayer is that we cultivate our relationship with him. Run to him as though he is our father and we are a small child.

…and frankly…that’s what life is all about.