My daughter asked me the ultimate loaded question.
"Daddy, why does God let bad things happen?"
"What kind of bad things?"
"Like Earthquakes."
"How do you know Earthquakes are bad? Maybe they are necessary for something important ten-thousand years from now and we just don't know it? God would know something like that."
"Then what about Kristin being sick?"
I came to full attention. This was something more important than a esoteric philosophical question now. She has transcended the universal for something truly personal. I needed to be very careful to answer this correctly.
"Do you enjoy riding your bike?"
"I love it. What has that got to do with Kristin being sick?"
"Be patient. I'm only a dad! We need to work up to these things."
"OK."
"Sometimes you fall off your bike. That is bad. It would be nice if that never happened. But, if the only way to prevent you from ever falling off your bike was to never, ever let you ride it, would that be a good answer?"
"No. I'd hate that."
"So, you are willing to pay the price of falling every now and then to have the opportunity to ride your bike?"
"Yes."
"What if the only way to prevent Kristin from getting sick was to never let her live? Would that be OK?"
"No."
"I agree. What it all boils down to is that we all are given opportunities by God for wonderful things. There is a price we pay for those wonderful things. With the potential for wonder and beauty comes the potential for despair and ugliness."
"I don't get it."
"It's really very simple. The greatest gift God can give to us is free will. The ability to decide things for ourselves. The price we pay for that free will is that we live in a completely impersonal universe. A place where everything is not about us, and we must decide for ourselves how to fit in. Just like riding your bike, exercising our free will involves falling. That does not diminish the value of the bike, does it? Do you like your bike any less when you fall?
"It's not the bike's fault."
"It is also not God's fault that Kristin is sick. Sometimes it is nobody's fault. It is just the side effect of the wonderful opportunity we have been given, called life. Our job is to exercise our free will and adapt in the very best way we possibly can."
"But, it makes me sad!"
"There is nothing wrong with that, however, you have free will, so you can choose not to dwell on the sadness and believe with all your heart that the story has a happy ending."
"But, it's SO hard!" she whined at me.
"You know how I feel about that. The harder something is to do the greater the reward when you do it! Imagine the ultimate reward possible in your life comes from solving this little problem of how to understand free will. You learn to use it wisely and you will not ever have another bad day. All of the universe will change and become one great big blessing of opportunity just for you!"
"OK. I'll do that." she smiled. "Thanks, daddy!"
In a list
A contest entry
- Determinism versus Causality by StrawberryKisses.
450 points, ended April 2, 2007, 7 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 15 of 15
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As sweet as this is, it is not a poem. Sorry, but I can't really include this in the contest.
K. F.
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Thankyou for entering this little contest of mine. I will return to comment on everyone's poems later, but for now just a thankyou.
K. F. -
wonderful Write!! The answers given to a child in referance to the questions asked are great! This is a warm and loving write with messages within that are of value.
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Very nicely done! I really enjoyed reading this, even though it wasn't a poem. Perhaps because it wasn't one... gives a nice break from the monotony. But I really like the way it all built up, though the bicycle example made me think of the skateboard one given in Angels&Demons (Dan Brown) but that doesn't really matter. Thanks for entering =)
xXx
Marieke -
wow
i love this! i have a young daughter and often wonder how ill answer those inevitable tough questions. i like your answer, alot, and wish id gotten that one when i asked this question when i was young.
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awh i love the things you write about you and your daughter's conversations.
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This is amazing and beautifully written!
I really enjoyed this piece. You have
taught a very good lesson to your daughter
with this poem. Great work here and thanks
for sharing this. I hope to read more from you
very soon!
Jeremy0826
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this is amazing!!!!! wow! your daughter is so very lucky to have such a wise dad as you. I'm so glad that you took the time to write down this experience and share it with us. you've given an innocent child the knowledge of how to deal with the difficult times. I will say that if my parents had told me this...there would be some things in life that would've been so much easier for me. this is an awesome write!
~Sorrow~
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Very Blessed...
Your daughter is so blessed to have such a wise dad.
I am blessed that you share some of your wisdom here
with me on this forum. It's all good.
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Life is not fair.
You are a true master. Life is the possiblity of falure. Find the joy in the smallest things. Pain in pleasure. Brittersweet happiness... with the free will to make the choice to do what you can with what you are given.
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Great job, dad! The wisdom of a child often catches us off guard, we we do not have anwers for them, yet you did. You showed her more then most would ever understand, thus giving here a true gift in your answer.
You are very special and are touching Faith's life like no other.
Amazing words of truth, DAD!
Blessings to you!
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Wow and WOW again...
I am speechless... This was a breath taking poem, and Faith is very wise (So are you)... Give my best to Kristin...
That pen of yours is magic dear friend...
Elmarie
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Wow
Even though this is more of a story than a poem, it is a wonderful story!
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