May 16, 2009
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Is it still God’s will?
With the sudden death of a very close friend recently, Kevin Wood, only 33, from unknown and immediate causes, a lot of things went through my mind. When we found out he was an organ donor and his bone marrow was a match that saved the lives of 12 children and that his eyes returned site to another, we firmly believed that whatever caused it was clearly God’s will. It was so sudden, he literally dropped dead right in front of two paramedics at Taco Bell.
But now we know what happened and it really stings. My friend was mis-diagnosed back in November when he visited his doctor for chest pain and shortness of breath. I believe he had a fever at the time as well. Regardless, the doctor in question treated him for a lung infection, instead of examining his heart. He died of a viral infection of the heart, and as it turns out this could have been successfully treated with no problem on a regular course of antibiotics.
Now, do we still believe it was God’s will? When it was mysterious it was much easier to make the attribution. Perhaps guilty of what civilization has been doing since the beginning of human kind, we attributed the mysterious to God and the known to science. Does God take life in this manner, or is it the natural consequence of the natural order He created…and therefor indirectly still his will (or as some would say, His fault).
I will choose to believe that ultimately it was the will of God. I don’t understand it, and I know God owes me no explanation for anything He does. However, that being said I am not OK with it. I am glad these people were helped, even saved their lives, but what of Kevin’s 14 year old son, 10 month old daughter and 2 year old daughter? What of his beautiful and fully devoted wife of 4 years whom he, just that morning, had swung around in the kitchen laughing and telling her how much he loved her? No, I’m not fine with this at all.
Comments (6)
{sending gentle hugs} such pain is all too common. You are correct that you do not feel right with this and you shouldn’t. When we love another, we invest in them, our hearts are committed. To have such a tear in your heart is painful in so many ways. Prayers for his family, the benefactors of his donation and for you and his friends. Some day you may indeed know why. For now, it will have to suffice that you and he shared friendship and love and you both in that time, were benefited. Take care….
brokenbindings2 said it so beautifully . . . . my condolences to you.
I am trying to formulate a response to your question that will be consistent with a faith based theology while also conforming to the apparent reality of our human experience. the conflicted term in the previous “thesis statement” is, of course, “apparent”. i am still trying..
in the meantime i want you to write a list of those events past and present which might logically be termed NOT God’s will.
@brokenbindings2 - Thank you. Hugs always appreciated and well received.
@AcidSam - Thank you so much. It helps a lot to have those kinds of thoughts sent my way.
@rfloydlewis - Indeed. I will post a separate post tonight on this very subject. I believe it is a good assignment and as usual you will force me to think and explain my own unwitting contradictions. I wouldn’t have it any other way. My progammers are on SKYPE anyway and I have to stay up a few more hours until they complete their functional and unit tests of some new online software, so it will keep me awake much better than the story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe which I had considered starting this evening.