Why?

"It's terrible!"  Anna wailed.

"It'll be OK," I said.  "There are another 179 school days this year."

"You don't understand, Dad," Anna said, between her tears.  "The first day of school is always the best.  You don't do very much work and it's always so much fun."

It was the first day of school and Anna had awakened with a stomach virus, unable to keep anything down.  Clearly school was out of the question.

"It'll be OK," I said futilely. 

"You just don't understand!"  Anna said, bursting into tears again. "Why, oh why did I have to be sick today of all days?"

Why?  It's the sort of question that usually doesn't have an answer.

My experience is that we seldom ask the why questions about the good things that befall us.  I suppose we believe in our hearts that we deserve good things and that God really should shower us with blessings.

On the other hand, it is when terrible things happen that we break out this question.  A mass shooting, a child with cancer, or a family member in an accident seem to bring this question to the minds of many.

The problem is the underpinnings of this question.  It is really asking "If there is a good God who could prevent bad things from happening, why didn't He?"

As I search through the Bible for answers, I do not find them.  God does not reveal His thoughts to humans nor His plans to those who could not understand them.

What He does reveal in His Word are promises of suffering and persecution for the People who God has chosen, but He tells us more.  As I continue to read, I find promises of a God who will not abandon His people.

The road is hard.  We will not know the "Why?" behind many of the events that happen to us.  We can only know for certain that at the end God is waiting to welcome His people home.

And that's enough.