Doesn't it always seem like you never get rain while all your friends seem to be getting it? Last week, I was driving to the pet store, and in the course of 4 miles, I saw places with overflowing ditches and spots where it barely sprinkled. Unfortunately, I only had a brief shower while it poured less than a mile from my house. Of course, any rain is better than nothing. But I still can't help but feel intense disappointment and envy!
We are in the season of "isolated thunderstorms", and they are the source of so much frustration and jealousy. Few things make us more jealous than not getting rain while our neighbors are bragging on FB about how "God is blessing them with this downpour."
Which brings me to my main point. Do any of you really think God decides who gets rain and who doesn't? Additionally, does God bless certain people with health and happiness while cursing others with illness and suffering? Are people who have bad things happen to them less favored by God?
I know I risk alienating myself from so many of my friends and family by even bringing this up. But this question has been festering inside me for some time, and I feel compelled to share my thoughts. And in light of what happened a few days ago with the former president, I feel an even greater need to bring up this unpopular but important topic.
Nature has rules rooted in science. When we attribute weather's awesome and complex forces to "God," we are setting ourselves up for inevitable disappointment. Our summer weather patterns are just unpredictable. And there will be more "losers" than "winners" in this great game of chance. Someone will invariably get more rain than us, especially when we compare ourselves to all our Facebook friends.
I realize this is a touchy subject because we desperately want to feel God is looking out for us. I would never want to unravel someone's faith, especially as a source of inspiration and profound joy and peace.
But, I also have a deep desire to expose hypocrisy and fanatical or emotionally-based thinking. By attributing all our blessings to God, we must also accept that God is also the source of suffering, neglect, and anything else "bad" that happens to us.
I chose to believe that God doesn't intervene on our behalf and that we are really at the mercy of nature and chance. But that doesn't mean I don't feel grateful for my many blessings. I see life itself as a miracle. Everything we cherish could be taken from us in a flash, so I chose to try my best to treasure as many moments as I can. Even though I've not been the target of a recent assassination attempt, I try to remind myself that at any second, my life could end. We need to try and remember this.
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