A lot of the time when something tragic happens in the world, I find myself thinking I shouldn’t be happy that day. That smile I just flashed? Nope, wipe that off. People died today, you shouldn’t be smiling.
Or if friends and family are going through trials, I feel like I shouldn’t even laugh at something later on at dinner, because I should be feeling every inch of that other person’s pain instead.
Things aren’t okay in the world, so I feel like every time I’m happy, I shouldn’t be.
I don’t know if this is the right way to think, but at the same time, I sort of do. I believe this empathy has developed inside me that wasn’t there before. I’m grateful for that, but it’s also quite torturous.
My heart aches over all these people dying, all these fires destroying land and homes, all these shootings and attacks…
I’ve even been obsessing over a swarm of bees that have decided to nest near my apartment, checking to make sure those little guys are still buzzing around and no one has called pest control, because the idea of those little pollinators getting poisoned to death drives me nuts. I was sharing with someone how I was enjoying this particular nature documentary series up until the episode where nearly all the animals were killing each other. What happened to the first episode where practically all the animals on the island were vegetarian? Lol.
The person responded with, “Well, that’s part of nature. Animals kills each other in nature.”
Yes, I said. That’s true. I just don’t like death. In any form, natural or unnatural, it makes me very sad.
I bring up this story because I believe it is actually God reminding me to be more sensitive to the world, to humanity, to earth and everything in it. To not complain about my life. To help others when I can. To find happiness even with all the hatred in the world…
What can I do in this life that benefits others?
What should I do?
What do you do?
I would offer prayer and whatever other help I can give, but for those who don’t offer prayer, what do you say?
Another point I want to make is this: God is not responsible for evil. He doesn’t cause death. A person or group of people didn’t die because God hated them.
I heard someone tell a person who lost her father to cancer that God created cancer. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything at the time.
God is a perfect being; He did not create cancer. Cancer and everything else bad in this world is the result of sin, the result of an enemy.
I know that paragraph in itself elicits all sorts of commentary.
You might be thinking, “Well if God exists, why did He allow those bad things to happen?”
Addressing that can wait for another time.
Some main questions I want to get to are for you:
How do you stay happy amidst hatred? How do you stay positive, and share that positivity with other people and add light to a dark world?
Think about this to yourself, and hey, maybe even share your thoughts in a comment below.
Here’s to shining bright.
em
A Heart for Heaven 