Life is Strange

I've been thinking about my friend who lost her baby. There is this great sadness that I have inside, but at the same time, it's a feeling of relief that the baby did not have to suffer.

I recently watched the repeat episode of One Tree Hill where a student so distraught by his tormented high school experiences turned gunman. It's the tragedy that we've all heard before in the news and the same one that we've conveniently put in the back of our minds because it's so disturbing and painful. Fortunately, I did not have to suffer through a horrific tragedy such as Columbine during my high school years, but at the same time, the entire country got a jolt of reality and suffered alongside with them in shock and loss just the same.

At a church service, a young man testified about the goodness and greatness of God amidst the tragedy of losing half of his family. This man had come from a family who served the church in numerous ways; in fact, his parents were serving as missionaries somewhere in Slovenia. His family had just left for vacation. In a single instant, he lost both of his parents and his youngest brother in a terrible car accident. Thankfully, his other two younger sisters survived.

There are so many tragedies in the world where the ones mentioned above are just a few. There's war, poverty, sickness and disease, natural disasters, hate...it's so overwhelming.

Then when we take look at our own lives, the problems and dramas that we are going through seem so trivial compared to others. Sure, I may have financial difficulties and be up to my neck in debt, but I still have clothes on my back and a bed to sleep on at night. I currently do not have a job, but at the same time, there are so many opportunities open to me, a woman of color living in America. I may be going through marital problems, but I've learned the hard way that while people do make mistakes, there's always room for change and change of heart.

I look at my life and while I often find myself down and out depressed, while it is easier to sulk and be miserable, I have to remind myself how truly blessed I am.

In all of the things to believe in this world, there are two things in which I am certain. One, there is a God. Two, all things happen for a reason. I believe that our paths have been carved out for us and while we do have the gift of free will, God is up there just watching what we do, KNOWING what we'll do, and probably chuckling and laughing at how we do it. In all things, I have faith that whatever happens in our life, good or bad, major or minor, trivial or not, that we will be taken care of. This is not to say that we can just sit back and expect good things to happen to us- on the contrary!

I believe that everything happens for a reason; that opportunities present themselves when we least expect them; that when a door closes up a chapter of our lives, another one opens; that we are on this particular path at this particular moment for a particular reason; and finally that EACH and EVERY person that comes into our lives has a purpose, too.

Life is strange, isn't it? It's a confusing maze of instances and yet, while we may not understand any of it, we just have to trust that everything will turn out okay. Life happens and we have to happen with it...and be thankful and grateful for each day.