The church I attend encourages congregational participation in the worship experience by providing opportunities for our congregants to share original poetry, responsive readings, essays, and personal stories during the course of the service.
You’ve seen some of my projects, but I wanted to share another. This past Sunday a friend shared her story of faith through difficult circumstances: on Monday she will give birth to a baby girl whose heart is broken, and she will need a heart transplant as soon as possible after she is born. Aside from knowing her and being close to the situation, I felt moved by what she has been learning about herself and God. She writes, “I have to give up the idea God exists to fix this for me; that if I just believe the ‘right way’ He’ll be forced to help me; but He’s not my voodoo jukebox and ultimately Job never knew ‘why.'”
I once had a boyfriend who thought Christians blamed everything bad on Satan and gave God credit for all the good things. But sometimes things just Are. I learned this when Gordy had cancer and ultimately died. I was angry, because he was a good person, and I had a short list of people who I felt deserved cancer more than he did. I begged God to take anyone but him.
But the fact that he died doesn’t change who God is, and I had to come to peace with that.
You can find a copy of my friend’s story on our church’s website. There is no permalink to the specific article, but click here, then scroll down to the essay titled, “Season of Waiting.”
Not to take away from a thoughtful post, but I love it when you say thinks like “permalink” — talk nerdy to me baby 😉
How can I follow that comment? I will be keeping little Zoe and her family in my prayers. Thank you for sharing.