The Pursuit of Happiness
All of us in this world have a dream or wish to be happy. We spend much of our lives in search of happiness. Yet, aren’t we afraid of the desolations that come into our lives? Have we prayed for the grace of desolation or darkness in our lives? How many of us would prefer to suffer willingly as Jesus suffered? We are called to witness happiness in desolation and sadness in consolation. As we see in Ecclesiastes 3, for everything, there is a time. In our lives, we witness people go through desolation and darkness, as though they were born to die in depression. It may be in physical, emotional, spiritual, or intellectual aspects. Some even suffer in all these areas at once. On the other hand, some people enjoy their lives with friends, families, and life partners as though they never have sadness in life. By looking at all these things, we generally feel that God is partial. Is He?
Lessons from Nature
Why does God allow so-called bad things to happen in our lives? Doesn’t He love us? Doesn’t He consider us His own children? Will a mother or father think evil of their children?
I’d like to give you a small image to help you understand brokenness. A crow lays an egg, and after the egg hatches, the crow takes care of its nestlings. The crow nurtures its little ones, feeding and pampering them. But as the nestlings grow, the mother crow throws them out of the nest, pushing them to fly. Does this action mean the crow does not love its chicks? Only when they fall down do they learn to fly. They look out, get up, and go further to lead their lives. Sometimes, love can be bitter.
Sch Jeevan Santhosh SJ
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