2C) Additional Discovery of Topics: Chapter 2

[TreyAndKrys]

In this chapter Slaughter touches on the fact that as believers we are
not immune to bad things happening. Even though we try our best to
live a good life and to be faithful, bad things still happen in our
lives. How do you approach this concept with yourself and with others?
How do you explain to other’s why bad things happen and how God to
find God in the midst of the pain?

[DAVEOJ1]

My God is not a puppeteer. God is not a string puller who controls
every movement of my life. We have to live life with all the pain and
conflict that it contains, as well as all the joy and celebration.
S=== happens to the best of us, and good things happen to the worst of
us, and many times neither one seems fair. We see pain and suffering
in the most faithful of Christ's servants, and health and wealth in
the some of the worst people we know. While God does not create the
pain, it is our faith in Him that helps us to get through the pain and
the hardships. It is the community of faith in which we live that
supports us and sustains us in both the good and bad times. You have
to live life the best way you can and then deal with what comes.

[Krystina Kyle]

This is something that I have recently tried to talk with a family
member about. She has been going through a tough time but is reluctant
to turn to God with her struggles. It takes discipline to live with
faith and she does not see the reward in living a disciplined life if
she is still going to experience "bad things" and pain in her life. I
have tried to explain to her that the bad things don't come from God,
it is the blessings, the support, the love that we experience during
the "bad things" that is God acting in our lives and insuring that we
have what we need when we really need it.

I have done a lot of study on Marian Apparitions over the past year.
Mary, Mother of God, has appeared all over the world to many people.
She appears mainly to children or adolescents and they are usually
children living on the fridges or are marginalized. She also appears
before great times of trial and war like in Medjugorje or Rwanda. The
children that she appears she also warns that bad things are going to
happen and in Fatima she even told the children that they would die
soon. They children have tremendous faith, they are "chosen" my the
mother of God to bring us a message, yet they are not spared the pain
of this world....

It is very easy to live our daily lives not thinking about our deaths,
but eternity will be so much longer than the time we spend on this
earth. When bad things happen in my life my faith doesn't just give me
comfort it also gives me a community and support system. Living
without faith makes going through the bad stuff that much harder!