*+ Why?

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-10 NLT

I don't think I know anyone who hasn't questioned God at one time or another. 'Why?' seems to be the most common question we have for Him, and the one that seems to be most often left unanswered. However, I have noticed the longer one follows the Lord, the more the 'Why?' is to try to understand or make sense of a situation, and less of a confrontational 'How dare you' attitude. 

Today, I attended a 'See You Later' Celebration of Life for a 15-month-old little boy named Elisha. Nobody wants to do that...ever. As difficult as it was, I can't imagine going through something like this without God. Thankfully, Elisha's parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are all Christians and their faith beautifully reflected God's glory and grace today. 

Most amazing to me were the testimonies of how this baby's short 15 months changed the lives of those who interacted with him. How - because of his condition - they had to reach deep for ways to connect and communicate with him. How they found new depths of their own character that they never knew existed. And their words today profoundly affected those gathered to honor and support the family. I look forward to hearing the after stories of how lifestyles and choices were changed forever by what folks heard this day about a 15-month-old little superhero named Elisha. 

There were lots of tears, but there was also laughter. There was tangible pain, but there was also hope and confidence that this truly was a 'See You Later' event. 

We may never know the answer to any of the times we have asked 'Why?'. After all, we have never 'commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east' or 'made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness' or any of those other marvelous things listed in the last few chapters of Job, but we do know the One who did.

Prayer:

Father,
         Jesus told us in His famed Sermon on the Mount, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Comfort as only You can, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.