Everything doesn't happen for a reason

Consider this: maybe God doesn't control everything. That would mean that not "everything happens for a reason." Like half of the computer literate population, I poke around facebook and under half of my friend's quotes is that phrase. "Everything happens for a reason."

I reject that.

I refuse to think that God makes thousands of children go hungry everyday. I deny that people groups warring with one another for decades to centuries in Ireland, Africa, and the Middle East has some semblance of a good outcome. There is no purpose behind thousands of young girls being forced into prostitution. No purpose could be good enough to warrant these.

Instead, consider this: perhaps God tries to make the best out of our mess.

A good mother once was cooking with her children. She loved them very much and instead of forcing them to follow a recipe wanted them to experience the joy of preparing a meal. She gave them her box of recipes and gave them free reign of the kitchen. The children decided to ignore her box and attempt their own recipe.

The mother knew within five minutes that the meal they were putting together would not be pleasant. The children had not chosen ingredients that would compliment one another. After an hour, the children began to see that things weren't turning out the way they had foreseen.

The mother loved her children. She did not want them to fail and so instead of throwing out their mess and starting over from one of her recipes, she took what they had already made and helped them create something edible out of it. Though the meal would have been much better if the children had chosen to follow her recipe, it was still good and the children were grateful for a mother who made something great out of their mess.

We make bad decisions and I am convinced that God grieves when we do. But I believe God is like this loving mother, who cares enough about us to make our own choices and tries to make the best out of what we give her.