Re: Do you think this holds true?

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Noel7 wrote:
I don't think God gives us people to hurt us, for any reason.

I respectfully come in on the other side of this, and use my mother's life as an example.

Her mother died when she was born. Her father abandoned the family numerous times. They were poor, hungry, dirty, and my mom was left with people she didn't know, left alone on a farm for many days and taken to live in a house with 17 people she didn't know, all before the age of 10. She fought poverty, hunger, alcoholism of the adults around her, (I highly suspect incest attempts) and really no real love. She left school at 16 to get away from a not so good 'home' life, and tried to live with a couple of her other family members, who threw her out later as well.

And I feel this was to make her tough. Because after she met and married my dad, it seemed that her life was finally good. But 7 years into the marriage, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given five years to live (possibly leaving her with two babies, then age two and two months). In a few years, with her husband sick, she was diagnosed with cancer.

The short version is she survived (but was sick for a long time) her husband died early, and she was left to finish raising kids, with no money. She always felt that had she been given an easy childhood, she might not have been able to handle the stresses in her adult life. She knew that the abandonment and abuse from her father gave her the insight to appreciate the family she made and the love of her life till he passed so early. It gave her the strength to carry on and do what had to be done with all the illnesses, hard work, and financial issues as an adult.

We are often given what we need, even when it is not good, is hard, is unfair, is sad, or is painful. Sometimes we have no idea what else is ahead of us, but it is preparing us for the future, being used to touch other's lives, or something else that we just don't know.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Zhills wrote:
Just another POV from a FB post.

"We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It's up to us to make it good or bad."
JASON DAVID FRANK - Official fan page

Have not a clue who he is. Just thought it was an interesting idea!

This quote is just not totally correct. Children born with horrible illnesses, or in horrible homes ( or no home) and dangerous cirucmstances are given a bad life. It is only what they make of it when they get old enough to make the choices they didn't get to have when born (and growing up).

jubilant · ‎06-10-2010

While I think God "allows" bad things to come into our lives, I don't think he is the cause of all bad things that happen to us. Because I believe in good and evil, I believe in God and I believe there is a devil.

I think, at times we are fighting against forces of evil. It was not God who brought the evil but he allowed it to happen. He could have stopped it...yes...but for reasons we don't understand....he sometimes allows it. Like Job in the Bible. Job's body was in terrible shape, he lost his whole family. He was once very wealthy and lost his wealth, his friends judged him harshly, but he prevailed. He stood the test.

I certainly don't understand why bad things happen to good people but that is where faith comes into play.....at least for me it does. Did I ever struggle with that?? Yes, at one time I did.

Lila Belle · ‎01-24-2013

No, I don't.

Cakers3 · ‎06-17-2015

I do not believe that God places evil in our lives to make us better people.

We have free will - our perception of people, places, things - all formed early in life - all those have built us.

However, the willingness to change is crucial as to how we continue to live life. I do believe that good opportunites in life can easily be missed if we focus too much on one area of our past or even our present instead of living with expectations that may or may not be viable.

If I kept focusing today on what is wrong in my life I would miss out completely on what is right. God didn't put anything bad in my life; but God is there to listen when I struggle with acceptance and with decision making.

"" Compassion is a verb."-Thich Nhat Hanh