Why?

This past week-end I had the pleasure of spending time with my three year old grand-daughter, at her home. She is at that fun and inquisitive age where everything is why? Never really satisfied with the answer she always follows up with another, why?

Sunday morning we went to the church where she goes with her mom and dad. I knew to go early because it is a sizable church and just the walk across the parking lot can take five minutes. As I navigated through the hallways looking for her Sunday school room, we walked deep into a forest of fun filled classes that ranged from honey-bees to frogs. I soon discovered my grand-daughter was a frog.

After dropping my precious little frog off, I didn’t know whether to get a muffin at the café or buy a book at their lovely gift shop. However, I could hear the worship music and decided to postpone the two loves of my life, eating and reading for a later time. Being greeted by a friendly man handing out bulletins I took my place in the back row of the sanctuary.

When the worship music was done, the lights lowered, and I soon realized they were having a baptismal service. Two beautiful young women were joining the many believers in demonstrating their faith in Christ through baptism. As in many churches where they baptize by submersion a brief statement or testimony is given by the believer to share when and how they turned their life over to Christ, and often thank anyone who might have been instrumental in this life changing decision.

I was very touched by the first girl’s testimony and was thinking how much courage it took for someone in their twenties to boldly stand up for what she believes. Then the second girl as beautiful as the first girl started giving her testimony and you could hear a pin drop.

She told of how she loved Christ and how through a series of events in her life brought her to where she was today. She spoke of how she survived a drive-by shooting ten years prior and then as recent as a few months ago endured a violent domestic attack. During this attack she remembers asking Christ that if this is to be the end of her life, she wanted to spend it with Him and if it wasn’t and she survived she wanted to spend the rest of her life living for Him. As she emerged from the water she was radiant with a beautiful aura and smile.

At this point I could not contain my tears, and as always I’m the only woman on planet Earth that never has a kleen-ex. As I made my way to the ladies room, I thought how this young woman experiencing those violent attacks could have made a different choice. It brought to mind the two thieves on the cross, perhaps, because Christians will soon celebrate the Easter season, commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah.

The one thief because of his pain and sin mocked Christ and rejected him. While the other thief realizing who Christ was and is wanted to be a part of the Kingdom to come and simply asked Christ to, “remember him.”

We have choices in life regarding our belief in Christ and often times a traumatic experience will bring us to that choice. Either we shake our fists at God and demand that He do something, as the one thief did or we realize our sin and hopelessness in a life without Him and ask Him to simply, “remember me.”

In my devotions this morning I was reading in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, a familiar passage. As often is the case you can read something for the tenth time and always find something new or what I like to refer to as a little gem. The author writes in Ecclesiastes; “He has made everything beautiful in it’s time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

My study notes defines it this way; “all of God’s creation is beautiful. Eternity in our hearts refers to a deep-seated, compulsive drive to transcend our mortality by knowing the meaning and destiny of the world. We can find peace only when we come to know and trust our eternal Creator. Even then, we know God only in part. From beginning to end: all we see is a micro-moment of our own existence in the grand span of eternity. The Scriptures calls us to live in robust faith, during times of trial and pain and in the grand scheme of things God will make everything beautiful.”

Like my grand-daughter we can continue to ask why? But, in the grand scheme of things it’s not the why but the how we react when trials and circumstances are heavy on us. We can trust that God will take our trials, pain and circumstances and make everything beautiful in His time.


Note: Written in March 2010, reposted on blog.