I'm Finding that the Answers are Not So Easy to Find...

I think we all come into this world with  the same basic list of question in our pocket.  "Where do babies come from?", "Why is the sky blue?", "How does Aquafresh keep the colors separate all the way through the tube?"...

You know... basic questions for all of us... we all WANT to know!

The paths we travel determine any additional questions. For some, there are questions which will never be answered. Shaking angry fists at God isn't necessary, even though I once heard that, "It's okay to get mad at God when bad things happen... He can take it!" Unfortunately, when we are on life's journey and we pull the mini-van over and take the time and effort to shake our fists, it's our loved ones who seem to catch the brunt of our weaknesses and foibles and stumbling.

I'm finding that no matter how loudly we shout our queries to the heavens... we won't EVER get an answer to some questions.  At least not in this life.

But you have to ask yourself if finding the answer to every question is so important. Why bad things happen may not be nearly as important as what we do now that those bad things have happened. Explaining human suffering may not be as vital as finding ways to aid those who may be suffering. And, bemoaning the evil in the world may not be a helpful as standing up to that evil... no matter how scary it might be.

I saw a pretty serious accident the other day. I was right behind it when it happened. My oldest child was with me and after the crashing and spinning he shouted, "There are kids in the cars!"

Kids... Damn!

I turned around and looked at my son, "Stay RIGHT with me!! Don't wander off...do you understand me?" My 17 year old son nodded his understanding and I could see the nervous anticipation in his eyes as I made sure he had heard my instructions.

We drove past the first car on to the second car that looked as though it had sustained the most damage and we pulled the mini-van over. "Stay with me!" I repeated. "Watch out for traffic and STAY right behind me!"

"Yes sir!"

The entire front end was smashed to the point of looking as though it had been chopped off and the whole length of the driver's side was crushed into the car. Steam from the radiator was flowing back over the car and we could hear crying and moaning from inside the car as we approached. As we walked to up to the car we saw blood on the drivers face and an obviously broken wrist and arm.

Having started out in the military as a medic at the age of 17 and then becoming a special operator I had seen countless injuries and accidents in my decades of service. It all seemed familiar and I started going through the steps and motions of these situations and forgot that my son, who had never seen such things was right behind me.

I wrapped my scarf around drivers wrist and spoke to the driver and tried to keep her calm so that she would keep her head still. She was worried about her small child and I could see why the boy was crying. His child carseat had kept him from serious injury but there were little pieces of glass on his face and in his eyes. Without taking him out of his seat I spoke to him and the mother and gently flicked some of the glass from around the little boy's mouth and eyes.

The mom kept asking me what was going happen and if she and her baby would be ok and I just kept telling her that everything would be okay. She seemed to have sustained some injuries to her arm and maybe her ribs but she was breathing and not bleeding too badly.

By the time the ambulance and fire truck arrived the little boy had stopped crying and was pointing to the airplanes as they flew over and the mother had stopped crying as well. I almost tripped over my son as I backed away from the car when the ambulance crew took over. He had stayed RIGHT behind me the whole time. Watching me and listening to me.

We sat quietly for a few minutes in the van as we started home again.

"How did you know everything was going to be okay, Dad?  How do you walk up on a situation THAT scary and chaotic and within minutes start telling the woman everything is going to be okay?  How do you not freak out when you see that kind of stuff?"

It made me think!

Because in my experience I knew that the steamy fog from the radiator wasn't smoke, and that the little pieces of glass on the child's face LOOKED horrible but they were just superficial and that no matter the pain the woman was in she was breathing well and showed no signs of serious injury. Of course I was too slow to think of that answer on the spot while my son was asking, and I kind of mumbled..."I just... knew, I guess."

Do we NEED to know WHY? Do we need ALL of the answers? Isn't it enough to know that there are those who have gone down paths almost the same as yours, and they are telling you to just "hang on"... that it gets easier and that you will "be okay"? Isn't it enough to know that God may not give you all of the answers you seek but that He has told us, time and again that, "It will be okay!"? Do you really need to know "how" it will be okay?

You may not like where you're standing, but you're STANDING! Take an accounting of what you DO have. Get your bearings. Catch your breath. And then, when you feel less wobbly... let's get this mini-van back on the road and get to where we are going.

But keep your list of questions... maybe we CAN take it with us.