There are many reasons people die. It is, again, our one guarantee at birth! The path we end up on to get there varies for everyone. That includes me, my brothers, my parents, and even my son! It can be due to an accident, as in my son’s case: 100% preventable!! It can be due to an accident caused by another person. Still, 100% preventable, but not at our own hands. It can be a birth defect that took years to catch up to the individual or a condition we may have irritated or been caused by our own actions such as diabetes Type 2, heart issues, weight issues, etc. It could also be something not within our control: cancer; Alzheimer’s; ALS; and the list goes on. But here is my question? Do we really get to pick and choose who dies by what cause?
Here is what started this thought. And, please know, this is not targeting any specific individual, but can seem relative to many: We all have that one family member that we feel walks on water. What if that one dies from cancer? Let me be clear by stating one known fact— cancer sucks! I know it. You know it. Everybody knows it. Trust me when I say, “God knows it too!” It is inside each one of us. The difference, for some it remains dormant and is never an issue. For others, they get diagnosed and can die from some form of cancer. My brother died at 40 years old from cancer. I have a couple of aunts and uncles who died from cancer complications, and I have relatives who survived cancer with treatments and surgeries. My mother had it twice. Didn’t die from it (that we know of). It is a possibility for any one of us. So, this can be followed with “Why ‘this’ person or ‘that’ relative? What did they do to deserve this? How can there be a God who would let a person die this way?” This poses the next level of questions that may not have answers.
My first question: Is it really God’s fault? It is not. It can be man-made such as asbestos that was found to cause a form of cancer 40 years after it was invented. It can be due to how your body reacts to processed foods, or tanning beds, or sunlight, and so many other things. The blame-game is endless. But, if you believe in God, then you have to believe there is a devil that exists as well. You cannot have one without the other: equal and opposite. So, why not blame the foods, the sun, the asbestos, the dirt, the air, or the devil (and I don’t give the role credit by capitalizing the name)?
We all get angry when we have to say good-bye to someone we truly care about. Hell, I cry at a funerals even when I don’t know them, but know the family. I know the last time they shut that casket, it is the last time anyone on Earth will see their loved one. We know the devil preys here too! None of us are exempt from this possibility. No one is handpicked by God to suffer because they did something “deserving” of that pain. It is my faith that God pulls us through the situation and Heaven awaits us. When that happens, we no longer remember the pain we suffered on earth to get there. If I were to believe otherwise, and the question is valid as to “Why this person? Why would God let this happen to such a wonderful person?” means my son did something deserving to die in a car crash that took his life to the point he had to be identified by dental records. Or the student that suffered for three years with cancer and dies days after her seventeenth birthday did something “deserving” of the pain she suffered. Or the young adult who accidentally overdosed causing his mother to bury her oldest child did something deserving or the parents of these children, including myself, did something deserving of the suffering we endured.
Truth is, no one is to blame here, especially not God. Addiction, illness, depression, war, etc. It happens. Period. We cannot place blame, even when we want to. Again, my son’s decision to drink and drive was not God’s fault, but what if he was saved from something even worse? What if this happened by design and God needed my son, or your sister, or the student, for a much bigger purpose? What if that purpose was to change us, change our thinking, or behaviors? We could ask questions all day long and NEVER get the answers. Until we meet up with God and those that have died in Heaven, these questions will remain unanswered.
My theory on life and death is not completely different than others’. It happened. Can’t change it. Well, unless you can cure cancer, or addiction, or heart disease, or Alzheimer’s, or any other “death” cause known to man. But here is my hope: we can give comfort to those who are suffering or family of those suffering. Be there for them, even if is just to pass the Kleenex. Never question the “why” anymore. Don’t tell a parent they are not supposed to bury their child when they did. Never tell a family member their loved one was too good to die because that means our loved ones who died deserved it. This is an answer that will never bring comfort until we put all the pieces together of the Grand Plan. Then, it will make sense. Then, it will be comforting. Then, we can know the “why” of it all. Until then, know the life of the person you love, and I use present tense here, will never be forgotten and know their purpose on this Earth changed you for the better.
We can’t bring back our loved ones from Heaven. I truly believe if they were given a chance to come back to Earth from Heaven, they would decline because they only know peace now. Even as we suffer on Earth and should they look down on us, they smile knowing the peace we have ahead of us. This gets me through the “why’s” and the heartache of losing my parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, and, yes, my child. I may still cry because they are gone, but I continue to smile because they were here!
#neverforgotten #forever24 #thedashinthemiddle
thedashinthemiddle.com 