Is convincing yourself that all things happen for a reason a way to soften the blow whenever terrible things occur? And where do you draw the line?
Does it include your paper cut?
I’d actually like to believe that all things happen for a reason … dictated by the Creator … because this would have some degree of reassurance that “in the end,” everything will make perfect sense, and we’ll all exist happily ever after in a paradise that we can’t possibly conceive of in our lowly earth-plane existence.
But there is just no proof whatsoever that all things happen for a reason.
In fact, this premise is inherently flawed.
The Big Flaw
If all things, indeed, happen to us for a reason, then where do you draw the line?
Does this include that annoying nick on your leg you got yesterday from shaving? How about that stinging paper cut?
Is the zit on your forehead there for a reason other than whatever a dermatologist can explain?
If a loved-one perishes in a vehicular accident, it can be comforting to convince yourself that there’s a higher power behind this event … and that it happened for a reason.
And you’re not supposed to know that reason. You’ll find out after you die.
On the other hand, some people think they know the reasons for being given a life challenge.
For example, a woman who has a baby with Down syndrome may believe, “It’s God’s way of teaching me compassion.”
I just can’t believe that God willed you to get in a fender bender that caused you to miss your Zumba class which then the stress caused you to later overcook the pasta causing a delayed dinner which then caused you to skip the laundry which then caused your child to wear a smelly shirt next day which then caused his friend to call him “Stinky” which made your child get revenge by throwing a banana peel at him which was never picked up and thus caused the friend’s pregnant mother to slip and fall and have a miscarriage … and then the friend’s mother believes this tragedy happened for a reason orchestrated by a higher power!
And if only tragic or very disruptive events are guided by God, then what about events that might fall into a grey area, such as a badly sprained ankle?
For an Olympic sprinter the day before the 100 meter final, that’s devastating and thus … it happened for a reason. The athlete will hear this from religious family members over and over.
But for a preschooler who doesn’t know what the heck is going on other than one minute he’s in pain, and the next minute he has this cool Spiderman bandage on his ankle and is being doted on by family members … it’s not devastating.
Nobody will tell the child’s parents, “It happened for a reason.”
So if you’re crushed by a situation, it happened for a reason, but if it doesn’t bother you, it didn’t happen for a reason??
Like a couch potato spraining his ankle? After all, he spends all day on the couch anyways!
A sprained ankle is a godsend to an office worker who needs several days off work from all the job stress and can’t get off unless she has a medical release. How convenient, a sprained ankle!
But wait a moment here… Maybe her ankle sprain was guided by a higher power, since from her perspective, it’s a way to get out of her awful job for several days!
However, you should think about the silliness of that idea.
The creator of the universe caused an office worker to sprain her ankle so she could have a medical release to take a few days off work.
Why couldn’t God just soften up her boss? Why put the woman through pain and having to use crutches instead? Makes no sense.
Okay, so a car crash happened for a reason only if the driver was seriously injured.
But what if the driver walks away after their vehicle flips three times? Did it still happen for a reason?
If the driver suffered a mangled leg that had to be amputated, it must’ve happened for a reason.
If the leg was only broken, it may have happened for a reason.
If the only injury was a broken ankle … we’re definitely in a grey area.
And if the only injury was a broken pinky toe…is this too minor to have happened “for a reason”?
Where does one draw the line?
If we can’t draw a line anywhere, then we should include every single tiny little thing that ever happens to us as being willed by God or your entourage of guardian angels.
This would include forgetting to water the plants and one of them shriveling up as a result.
It should include accidentally staining the carpet with spilled wine, getting stuck in a long line at Walmart, forgetting to buy the cheese when grocery shopping, stubbing a toe, receiving your neighbor’s mail, finding a dime on the sidewalk, forgetting where you parked your car at the shopping center, getting a speeding ticket, having a little diarrhea … I mean really now, the idea is just way out there in left field.
