God Is Good

   How many times have I glibly voiced these three words, and how many times have I heard them mentioned or proclaimed in my presence? I believe them to be true in my life, but how about in the lives of others who live, as Thoreau puts it, "lives of quiet desperation"?

   Yesterday, we took a short trip up into South Carolina to see a couple who were visiting their daughter and her family. They are our age, but live under somewhat different circumstances. The husband has Alzheimer's, and she seems to be aging rapidly as the caregiver in that situation. She did not smile much, and, as I thought of her this morning, wondered if she would utter those three little words, and mean them, on this day.

   I thought of the people who have been ravaged by tornados over the past couple of days in the midsection of this country. Those who have been pulled from the wreckage and their families might indeed mouth these words and mean them, but what about others who were not so fortunate?

   As I read the words of Psalm 100 this morning, I thought about these different peoples:

   "For the Lord is good;"

   This psalm is a happy one. I can almost see the joy on the faces of the worshippers as they celebrate what God has meant in their lives.

   But I confess, that when tragedy strikes close to home, I do not really understand. At least in those early moments, I don't. I want to say to those hurting, "time will help you to know the good in this situation", but at the moment, time has not passed and the hurt is real, for all of us.

   So what do I do when I come face to face with the kind of situation that I saw in the eyes of those folks yesterday?

   Do I think the short sentence, given in these three words, to be true? Yes. Do I understand the full impact of it? No.

   So, what do I do? Trust in God's will, pray for those in need and wait for some time to pass and see how it works out. Maybe that is all I am called to do right now.

   Some questions take a long time to get answers, but I know that they will be, some day.

   God, please give me the trust and the patience to wait.