When Bad Things Happen to Good People

I have been thinking about this problem a lot lately. I used to think about it a lot, when things kept going wrong for me over and over and over again. In 1980, my first child was stillborn at six months. I still think of her and wonder what I did wrong to make her little life end before it ever really began. In 1990, I was in a near fatal car crash, due to a drunk driver, and spent four months in the hospital away from my young family. I have spent the last 21 years trying to recover from the injuries received from that accident. I am not totally recovered, nor will I ever be, but I go on. There is no use in not going on. I improve daily, still today, but there are many things that still bother me and that I am unable to do. My faith became stronger, not weaker, throughout all of my trials. I still wonder though, why so many bad things keep happening. Not long after I was home from the hosptial and recovering, I found out that my marriage was not what I thought it was, and that my husband had been unfaithful the entire time. In 1992, I filed for divorce and moved back to my hometown. Being a single parent is no easy task, and it is not one that I would wish on anyone. People have the wrong idea and impression of single mothers. Some people think you should stick it out, but God doesn't want anyone to live in pain, agony, and misery. He wants people to be healthy and happy, and I know that I did the right thing for me and my children. Still, it is a hard life, but it is a healthier life than being in a mess of a home.
In 2005, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although she overcame that, she developed uterine cancer the next year. This cancer ravaged her body and took her life in 2008. She lived in such horrible pain, but she never once winced or complained. She suffered silently, with dignity and grace and a smile on her face. Why did she have to go through that, though? Now, it is my brother and his wife that I think about. They have been married for about six years, and they have both had many illnesses since then. My brother waited until late in life to be married and have children. His wife married young and had her first child, who is now 24 and serving in the Army on his third tour in the Middle East. My brother and his wife now have two children together, ages 2 and 4. Needless to say, being an older parent is not easy (at 51 and 44, to be exact). Anyway, my brother had serious issues with kidney stones last year that put him out of work for a while and in the hospital a couple of times. My sister in law had a serious bout with an illness that was very hard to diagnose and treat. After spending about 39 days in the hospital, they finally figured out what it was: pancreatitis. She had to go to a specialist in another city for her surgery, and finally after a year of illness, that got better. Both children had surgery this year, also. Lil' fella had his tonsils out and sinuses cleaned, also tubes put in his ears. Lil' J. had tubes put in her ears. This year, my brother was sick a lot with his sinuses. He finally had surgery for that, but it took a lot out of him. After he got well, his wife got sick again. She had dropped a glass baking dish on her leg a few months ago, and it continued to hurt a lot. Then, she developed a serious infection inside her leg, one resistant to most antibiotics, and had to have two surgeries to remedy the situation. So, she has been in the hospital again for a week and will be out of work/commission for another two weeks or more. So, why do these things keep happening to this couple? They have never harmed anyone. They were lucky to find each other late in life and start a family. They are happy together, but crazy things keep getting them down. There are so many friends and relatives who have unexplained bad things that happen to them, and it just doesn't seem right. The bad people seem to never have anything bad happen to them. Maybe we just don't see the things that happen to them. I found my book that I bought years ago called "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, and I am going to read it again. It was written by a Jewish rabbi after he lost his 14 year old son to progeria, rapid aging. He talks about people feeling guilty and thinking it is their fault that bad things happen, but he reminds us that God would not punish us for things in these ways. I am anxious to continue reading his book again, and then I can write more thoughts about this whole situation. I will leave this blog today with two scriptures. One is a Psalm about the wicked and the other is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. We need them both together in order to make any sense out of this world.
Psalm I
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither, In all that they do, they prosper. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
I posted this scripture on my facebook page, because it helped me put things into perspective a little bit, although it does not totally explain anything. The next scripture is one of thanksgiving!
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.