I was sitting in my car with my grandson counting dinosaurs
and school buses (no, the dinosaurs were not riding in the buses, but who's to
say they couldn’t have been?)
Anyway, I had brought along a little snack with me just in
case our wait became longer than I expected.
A nutritionist told us about these healthy bars called LARA bars. They only have a few, natural ingredients in
them. I am okay with them, but the rest
of my family is not exactly on board.
So, I pulled out a peanut butter/chocolate chip LARA bar
(doesn’t that sound good?) and offered
my grandson the “cookie.” I tore off a
piece and he took a bite. The look on
his face was priceless. I actually had to tell
him to swallow it.
He scrunched up his nose, swallowed it, and shook his head as he said “no,” and
handed me the other half of his bite.
Shoot. I think I can safely say I
have officially lost the LARA bar battle when a 3 ½ year old turns down peanut
butter and chocolate chip. You just can’t
fool kids.
Well, sometimes you can.
Years ago, when our oldest daughter was very young, we
passed over the little creek down the road from our house. I told her that the road had a drawbridge that
had to be raised when boats came down the creek. I thought it was pretty funny, even though it
probably didn’t really fool her. But it sure
was fun trying.
Isn’t it a parent’s
right to have a little fun sometimes?
We joke about God, our Father, having a sense of humor, but
I don’t think he works quite like we do.
I suppose that is an important distinction to make. Too often, we attribute things to God that we
shouldn’t.
For instance, years ago a priest helped me develop a sound
perspective on things like natural disasters.
I never understood—even thought
it sort of mean—when someone would go on the news and say, “God saved my house,”
while they were standing next to the rubble that contained the remains of their
neighbor’s house.
Does God work like that?
Does he “play favorites” among his children?
The fact is, we live in a natural, physical world, where
tornadoes and hurricanes happen. As part
of this natural force of nature, tragedy strikes. A loving God, while allowing things to
happen, doesn’t make plays like pieces on a chessboard. He just doesn’t work like that.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa (the preacher to the papal household) said in a Good Friday homily in
2011:
““Earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters that hit
guilty and innocent alike are never a punishment from God. . . . To say
otherwise means offending God and man.”
A God like that
could almost seem vindictive, and there is no room for spite in a loving
God. An undeveloped understanding of God
can cause people to lose their faith when they inappropriately attribute
tragedy in their lives to God. Or, maybe
even more common, when their prayers are not answered according to their
desires.
It simply cannot be said enough—God loves us, tremendously. He extends his hand of mercy in the
sacraments and blesses us as his children.
“What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? Or hand him a LARA bar when he
wants a cookie?” Luke 11:11
Okay, maybe that last part was me, but you get the point.
Janet Cassidy
Janetcassidy.com
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