I Choose To Believe

(Image found at Kind of Red.)

My coworker's daughter isn't doing so well. In fact, she's taken a turn for the worst.

I still don't know what I could say or do to support my coworker and her husband during this horrible time.

But I do know one thing.

Today on the ride home from my boyfriend Sean's house (it's about an hour and a half away), I got to thinking about everything, and I realized something. No one can ever know for certain who or what God is, or even if God exists. You have to decide for yourself whether or not you believe. And it is for this reason that I choose to believe.

I choose to believe that God does NOT preordain everything that happens here on Earth.

I choose to believe that God gently guides us to the possibility of something beautiful coming from tragedy.

I choose to believe in the words of Alfred North Whitehead:

 What is done in the world is transformed into a reality in heaven, and the reality in heaven passes back into the world. By reason of this reciprocal relation, the love in the world passes into the love in heaven, and floods back again into the world. In this sense, God is the great companion--the fellow-sufferer who understands. (p. 351, emphasis mine)

I choose to believe that one day God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. (Revelation 21:4)

I choose to believe that Resurrection Sunday will always come after Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

I choose to believe that God is with the orphans, the widows, and the bereaved parents.

I choose to believe in all these things because I choose to have hope in the midst of despair.