Off with his/her head!

Sadly, I continue to watch America fracture along political, racial, and fill-in-the-blank lines.  Cancel culture abounds like in the waning days of the French Revolution.  If you don’t like what someone says, cancel him/her.  At least we can be thankful the guillotine isn’t in use any longer. 

Why is all this happening?  Are really we doing what God wants us to do?  If not, what’s the plan?  What should we be doing differently? 

Two years ago, this past week, my wife and I received a phone call that changed our lives.  One of our daughters, Erin, had been diagnosed with cancer and scheduled for immediate surgery.  Erin has been fighting ever since against overwhelming odds.

After getting over the initial shock of learning of Erin’s body was trying to kill her, I became angry with God.  Why would a God who loves us let this happen? 

I was lost. Without an outline or sense of why, I started writing. I knew how The Salt Messages began.  That was the easy part.  Like me, Tom, my main character, was angry with God for the same reasons I was and shared my questions and my despair.  But, I had absolutely no idea where the story would go. 

Now, I am certain God had a hand on my shoulder while I wrote. 

The two key takeaways I have from the messages God sent me are that God wants to have a personal relationship with us and every day we should strive to follow Jesus’ teaching that we are to love one another (John 13:34). Things happen we often don’t understand because the answer is bigger than any of us as individuals. We need each other and we need God’s help to figure out the solution to the puzzle.

Now, before anyone who knows me calls BS on me, I know I can be a jerk.  Tom and I share many personality flaws.  I get ticked off at people.  I judge the actions of others. I have a lot of work to do.  I am not even close to living up to Jesus’ message that we all need each other.  But, I keep trying and I will continue to do so.

If, as Tom discovered, God doesn’t make things happen - doesn’t pull our strings, but he knows what will happen, perhaps we should work harder to understand the plan, ask God for guidance, and to talk with and care for instead of cancelling or dismissing each other.