Don't ask "why", ask "how"

Am I even asking the right question?

Have you ever watched one of those news magazine shows on television?  You know, the ones where they reveal the details of a mystery story over the course of an hour.  I like investigative journalism, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out "whodunnit".  They often feature murder mysteries, fraud investigations, and accident analysis. 

Many of these mysteries and news reports develop into tales of survivor's guilt.  It usually is highlighted in stories where there has been some type of accident, maybe a car or a plane.  As a result of the accident, not everyone survives.  Those who do survive often begin to question why they survived while others in the same accident did not.  It is called survivor's guilt.

I've been experiencing a little bit of this, but with a slightly different twist.  I guess you could call it "miracle guilt".  I don't know if that really exists or not, but I have been feeling twinges of it from time to time.  It rears its' ugly head every time I hear about a tragedy.  It seems like all you have to do is open your eyes in the morning and stand upright while news of some tragedy or another smacks you in the face.  It comes in different forms, but it's everywhere.  You turn on the television to the morning news, and it's one tragedy after another from the newscaster's lips.  You open the morning paper, and there it is, pages and pages of catastrophes, hardships, and bad luck.  Then, of course, there's the computer.  The Internet is filled with volumes and volumes of bad things happening all over the world.  You can't escape it.  We live in a fallen world where accidents, illness, and death are a way of life. 

So...it begs the question.  Why Christopher?  Why my son?  There are plenty of deserving souls out there.  There are plenty of people who seem like they are more in need of a miracle than Christopher was, so why him?  Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad it was him.  No, that's not a strong enough word.  I'm grateful and bursting to the seems with joy that it was him, but...still...why was it him? 

Everyday I hear about kids with cancer and people suffering  hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.  The news is chock full of people who have fallen on hard times, people who have lost jobs, and people who are hungry.   There are people I know personally too, friends and relatives, who have gotten the bad news from their doctor or who are going through some type of personal tragedy or another.  All these people could use a miracle of some sort.  Aren't they deserving of one too?

Many of them are really good people.  Many of them seem to have a lot to offer the world.  Many of them are good souls in need of an answer.  Why?  Why was Christopher healed?  These people need healing miracles too.

I might be biased.  I think Christopher is a great kid, an awesome kid in fact, but why did God choose him?  According to the local news, there are lots of kids to choose from, so what set Christopher apart?  There are hospitals full of people on their death beds right now who could really use a miracle...and fast! 

I met some of them over the years when Christopher was in the hospital.  Sarah, Jessica, "the girl who wouldn't eat", they were all in desperate need of a saving miracle.  Why didn't they receive one?  Did they do something wrong?  Christopher certainly isn't perfect, so why him?

If you were expecting a compelling, convincing, and cogent answer to that question, then you are most certainly about to be disappointed.  The truth is, I have absolutely no idea why God chose Christopher and not the kid with cancer or the people suffering the after effects of some natural disaster.  Who can possibly know the mind of God?  His ways are higher than our own, and His plans are for His purposes.

I have given this a lot of thought and prayer, but all I can report is...I don't have a clue.  It is a complete mystery to me, one that even the most comprehensive investigative journalist couldn't solve.  I do know that there are just some questions in life that don't get answered until our death.  Some questions just have to wait until we get to heaven, so that we can better understand God's plans. 

How can I best thank God for His blessing?

Until then, the answers will have to wait.  Come to think of it, maybe I'm asking the wrong question anyway.  Maybe the question isn't, why did God bless Christopher with a healing miracle?  Maybe a better question would be, how can I best thank God and honor His miracle?  I intend to spend the rest of my life finding ways to do just that!  Instead of allowing "miracle guilt" to become like a shadow on my heart, I will free my heart by sharing God's story of miracle healing.


If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...