YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT GOOD YOU WILL SEE

I have had a few days to think about what occurred on Saturday in Brookfield. Obviously, I have no certainties about the reasons this occurred. But there are some things I am certain about.

God was there, and because He was, I am also certain that He knows the reason.

Whenever things like this happen, we seem to pause, and if we allow it, we can easily find ourselves going down a road of despair. After all, what sort of a world actually witnesses eight people killed in a church? A church!?

The next morning, I was listening to the radio, and heard of other tragedies, things occurring in other people’s lives that are no less tragic than this devastation in Brookfield. The magnitude of this event seems to be huge, drawing international attention. And if we allow it, it will draw us down a road of despair.

Where is the good news? Why are we hearing about mass murders, family tragedies, and all other manner of evil done to people? Do we hear about them for the simple reason that they happen? Is it that simple? Or is there another force at work?

We all know evil is alive in this world, sometimes alive even in our own hearts. And when a tragedy such as this occurs, it seems that we can focus on nothing else. In one sense, I think it is right that we focus on it. In another sense, I think it shouldn’t be the only thing we focus on.

Here is what I will do. I will keep knowing that God is good. Even though He allowed this tragedy, and others like it to occur, still, He is good. And we can focus all we want on devastation, and if we allow it, it will draw us down a road of despair.

But on Saturday morning, my daughter competed in a piano competition, flute competition, and singing competition. Of six events she participated in, she won the highest honors in five of them. Am I to forget this wonderful victory for her, and instead, be drawn down a road of despair?

On Sunday, I had a chance to talk alone with my best friend, Brett, and even though I was sick, the time we had together to just talk was good. Am I to forget this, and be drawn down a road of despair?

Evil things would have us lose focus on the good in this world, all of the time. It’s bad enough that the tragedy occurs, it’s horrendous and heartbreaking. For the many involved, this one event will dominate their hearts for a long time to come, and for that one thought, I could shed many tears.

But there is good in this world, happening right alongside the evil. There is so much good in this world of God’s that we have almost forgotten to report it, and to celebrate it. It’s almost as if we take it for granted, we who claim to know God, and that instead, we live from day to day, wondering what tragedy will occur next, so that we can mourn for a better place, a paradise without evil in it.

Try as we might, we cannot escape the fact that we are HERE, in this place, during this time. And if we had need to be in that paradise right now, would not God have already brought us there?

I just want to thank all of you for your beautiful comments. I read your hearts, and I sense your tears, and frustration, anxieties about how this can happen, and what can be done about it. I feel the same as you.

Today was not Saturday, and this day had enough worries of its own. Tomorrow will be the same. But every day, there are many things to see that are good, and I wonder, will I notice them tomorrow? And if I notice them tomorrow, will I thank God for them, or will I stay focused on all the bad that I see?

I tell my daughter this often; “We have never had this day before. You never know what can happen.”

I think I am going to start saying, “you never know what good you are going to see, but be ready for it, otherwise you’ll miss it.”