God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines

Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to take 100 people,” Death replied.
“That’s horrible!” the man said.
“That’s the way it is,” Death said. “That’s what I do.”
The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death’s plan.
As evening fell, he met Death again. “You told me you were going to take 100 people,” the man said. “Why did 1,000 die?”
“I kept my word,” Death responded. “I only took 100 people. Worry took the others.” (source unknown)

Ask any parent if worry ever knocked upon the door of parenting. It seems inevitable, if you love then worry will be your aching companion. Jesus understands the love of parent for child. He also desperately wants to ease our worry by walking our path with us – not just a few days of the week, but every single day and every single minute.

If we look to the gospel, we meet a father who pleads for Jesus to save his daughter’s life. Hope appears short lived. For while this father waits for Jesus to leave the crowd, the horrific news arrives: ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ Hearing this announcement, Jesus says to the father, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ The man’s daughter is brought back to life – the ultimate agony for any parent has been avoided.

What exactly does it mean to “not fear, only believe”? Loss is an inevitable part of life. No matter how much one believes, jobs will be lost, people will break our hearts, disease will limit our lives, and death will steal away those we love. How then does one “not fear, only believe”?

Fear not that you are alone in your sadness; believe that our Lord cries with you and will walk you through the valley of grief and emptiness. And in the grand scheme of your life remember that “God writes straight with crooked lines.” Kathleen M. Sullivan ’82MA ’87PhD