Put to the Test

Ever wonder why life can be going so good, then bang... Something significant comes along to "put you to the test"?

Some would stop here and simply say "@#$& Happens"! Actually, and even in the spiritual sense, they'd be correct! Things do happen, and for the most part, they happen with a sense of randomness that we cannot predict nor explain. Sure we make plans, and outcomes occur as we would expect, but the randomness of life usually seems to take a front seat, especially when we feel in control.

God does not make "@#$&" happen; and He certainly doesn't use such occasions deliberately with the intention of making you understanding it all. Rather, the "test" is how one responds to the randomness. For example, I write most mornings, out here on the back porch, and during the last paragraph a mosquito decided it was time for one last bite before heading back to his little cool pond of water for the day... That's random! Now, I'm finding it hard to concentrate on why I even began this blog in the first place, except to say that if the James Taylor song "Secret of Life" is correct, and "the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time", then one cannot plan for the random; one can just react to it... And the "test" would be that one could most always try to be a better person because of such random tests. So, I am off for some of that anti-itch cream, ready for another day of random Grace!

By the way, a friend of mine, from a very great time in my life called college, will be laid to rest this week. There is nothing more random, and, quite frankly, tragic, than the randomness of Cancer. No one in their forties should have to leave this life so soon... My prayers are with my friend Carl Cronan who ended a long battle with the disease last week. To his wife Roselle and Carl's family and friends... Peace be with you!