Sometimes I have trouble accepting that troublesome worldly times are part of God’s plan.
I work on that. A lot. And God has been providing plenty of opportunities to work on that lately.
Especially related to the pandemic I have heard Pastors and other Christian leaders say many times, “This may seem like out-of-control chaos to you but don’t be anxious. This did not take God by surprise. He is in control.” Sometimes I “get it.”
And there are other times when I just totally don’t “get it” at all.
Recently there was a horrible tragedy nearby. A 15 year old girl gave birth in a tub at home, and the 16 year old father had taken the baby and did not return. Law Enforcement officers found the baby dead, hidden in the woods in a hollow log covered with snow and shot twice in the head. The 16 year old father confessed to having killed his 3-day-old daughter.
God, I truly, honestly cannot understand how this can be part of Your plan. The baby girl named Harper – she suffered severe hypothermia abandoned naked and covered with snow in a hollow log in the woods. But she didn’t die. So her father returned with a gun and shot her.
God, what was Your plan for Harper? I don’t understand. I truly don’t understand. This young soul never did anything to anyone. Her entire life consisted of suffering. How could this be Your plan for a helpless baby? Did You know Harper before You knitted her together in her mother’s womb? (Psalm 139)
Her mother and father were barely more than children themselves. The father, who has already confessed to the killing, is being tried for murder as an adult and his face, plastered all over the news, is the face of a terrified boy. The mother – what is to become of her? How did she come to be alone giving birth in a tub, with the only other person present the man-child who was about to become her child’s killer?
How is this Your plan, God? It is both evil and tragic. Are those things also part of Your plan?
I am praying for Harper’s soul, God. I don’t know enough theology to know how this is supposed to work, but please God, I pray that Harper finds eternal Peace in Your Heavenly Kingdom, and that these child-parents come to know Your love and forgiveness.
GodChild 