trusting God – Sharon O'Connor

“Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People…

by Sharon

… like you?”

Published August 10, 2024

You know that quote about, “Daughters are little girls that grow up to be your best friends”?

Today I went for a two mile walk along our local Rail Trail with two of my best friends. They have grown into beautiful young women whose friendship I respect and treasure. I stepped back to take a photo and watched them move ahead of me on the tree-lined path. Something in our relationship as a mother and daughters has shifted. They walk confidently ahead or beside me, instead of being led by me. It is a comfort. I enjoy being with them. I like them. More than just a little.

One of them said last week, “I’m enjoying these normal days. I don’t want them to change again.” Planned surgery is not really what any of us would have ordered for our August itinerary. And yet, we all know change is a part of life. What I don’t want to change is their enjoyment and pursuit of God.

We headed back to the car and saw a friendly acquaintance from church. Waving hello, we chatted and he kindly said, “I was just talking about you in our group at work. We were talking about why bad things can happen to good people, like you.”

I had heard this before over a decade ago when I woke up from exploratory surgery with a stage 3 cancer diagnosis and a colostomy. People who loved us wondered why, how, what was God doing? We did, too. My conclusion then has not changed. I can just say it with more certainty.

“Well, we live in a fallen world. Bad things will happen. But God is still able and in control.” We conversed a little more and then we went on our separate ways.

There is a website I find helpful on the question of why does God allow bad things to happen to good people, and it speaks to this question. Read the full article by clicking here.

The last paragraph on this web page says, “God allows things to happen for a reason. Whether or not we understand His reasons, we must remember that God is good, just, loving, and merciful (Psalm 135:3). Often, bad things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. Instead of doubting God’s goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). We walk by faith, not by sight.” – Excerpt from https://www.gotquestions.org/bad-things-good-people.html

Part of being ready for this upcoming surgery has been my wanting to help prepare my family, especially my daughters. I’m so very proud of the way they have stepped up, worked through tough emotions, and have stepped with me, with us, towards this next thing. Whether it’s something concerning or just surgery + recovery and moving on, we’re all trusting the God who will never, ever, change. Do you know Him?

To keep our faces toward change, and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate, is strength undefeatable. – Helen Keller

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:16-18

Field Journal

Quiet Wait

by Sharon

We get excited around here about particular things. The grand babies coming to visit; a good meal shared; the Amazon delivery truck (I bet you’ll say the same); God’s stunning hand-painted sunsets over the farmer’s field; and for my mother-in-law, seeing our neighborhood doe and two fawns makes her day complete.

Recently mom saw the doe jog cross the field, bound up the hill, and leave her two fawns. One fawn was alone in the corner of the field across the road. We could catch a patch of brown just at the edge of the woods. The second fawn went off alone. Had they been scared? Separated by accident?

For an entire day mom watched the field. The fawn refused to move away. Evening shadows came and still the fawn waited alone, nudging her nose out now and then testing the wind. We very much wanted her trust rewarded with mama doe’s return.

What if the doe was hurt, or had abandoned the fawn? She had proven herself as a good mama, capable, trustworthy. But gone for an entire day? The little fawn stayed in her place. She rested, watched, and waited on the edge of an unknown.

The next morning my husband saw the fawns with mama doe together in the field. When we told mom, she said, “Yes, I watched for an hour last evening until it was dark. Just when I had given up, the doe returned. They are all okay!”

Have you ever questioned what you may know about God’s great goodness and character? Or maybe you’ve seen him work miraculously on your behalf before, but dare to wonder if he’ll choose to come through again they way you hope? Does he even know where you are?

If you’re standing on the edge of a lonely place watching for safety and sunrise, wait:

1) Stay grounded in God’s love for you. He has not abandoned you. He knows exactly where to find you.

2) God’s character does not change even when our circumstances may shift.

3) How we *feel* in distress is often not the true reality of our situation. Our emotions can deceive our minds and draw us from focusing on truth. God’s promises are true. Read them, pray them, dwell on them, rest in them. He will meet you where you wait.

Verses to consider:

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7

“But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.” Hosea 12:6

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” Psalm 62:5

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Sharon's Journal

Anxious for Nothing

by Sharon

God told us “do not fear” or “fear not” 365 times in the Bible.

Do you think He knows us? Our bent towards harboring fear that settles in and paralyzes us from enjoying the abundant life He intends for us to live?

There is an old towering tree in a clearing where I walk. To get to the tree I can take a few different paths. Tonight I took the longer trail. Passed sheltering trees with glints of evening sun in the branches. Silence.

Picked up a stick that fell in last night’s storm. Tossed a rock pushed up from the ground. Stopped to catch my breath at the top of the long hill. Listened for signs of life. Watched a doe disappear into the woods to my right. Saw a feather left by the hawk screeching high overhead. Kept walking. Grateful for a body that works.

I’ve been watching for the wild grapes entwined in the branches of that old tree. High grass surrounds the base of the pine. Deer have been resting there. Tonight, finally, the grapes are ripening and plump. A simple feast waiting in the middle of a forest clearing. Abundant life draped over old branches securely in the middle of nowhere.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11

God provides. Even in our fear and anxieties; in the silence of our walk; clutching burdens we struggle to know how to drop at His feet; imperfect vision contemplating the beauty wrapped around us in this fallen, breathtaking, decaying world.

God is so good to us.

Quiet forest walk? Unexpected feast or provision? How has God encouraged you today?