And We Shall Understand
January 1, 1970
We are all somewhat troubled at times at what seems to be injustices. And we wonder about the unanswered questions. We see someone who has lived what seems to us to be a good and sound and sensible life, who becomes seriously ill, or has some undeserved setback, or meets some misfortune. There are so many questions: What of people born with physical or mental impairments? What of those who are injured by the actions of others? What of those who are taken by death at a time when they seem to us to be needed most? What of those whose lives are cut short while some live longer than they want to live? What of promising young people who die in the years of their youth? What of beloved children who are suddenly seized by illness or accident? When we see what can occur that we cannot readily reconcile, our souls sometimes cry out in questioning why such things are so. Why? We could speculate upon a thousand possible answers without being sure we had the right one. But as to all unanswered questions – of which there are many – as to all of them: We must have faith. And as to all of them we should once more remind ourselves that life is a process and not an ultimate end. It is a reaching for, but not an ultimate arrival. If life were bounded only by birth and death, the apparent injustice of some of the daily happenings we see would never find adequate answer. But sometimes at some turn in the eternal journey, with a just God watching over all, we shall understand all that is not now understood. And the answer will seem as simple as the answer to some of the questions we now already know. And we shall be satisfied and shall come to the quiet conviction that, having done our best, we can leave what we cannot change in the hands of a just and merciful Father, and not be bitter about those who receive more or less from life than it seems to us they deserve.