I hear myself say something like: Are you kidding? But I have no interest in debates or discussions that go nowhere. All I know is that when things go kerflooey, quite off-kilter, I return to something ancient yet continuing to be amazingly graceful. For me, that is the ancient story of Job in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Honestly, I have no trouble with Job, the biblical master of the long whine. I used to gag over this poor-me man. Now that I am aging, however, I admire Job’s way of grieving which is long and incessantly nagging God and anyone who will listen for explanations of all the grief and woe in this life on earth. Job’s friends exhaust him with a million explanations—all quite obvious and logical. My favorite is from Job’s fed up wife who tells her husband: Curse God and die! (2:9)
I can identify with such a headlong grief and have sat listening to many a grieving soul, including my own. All we want to know is WHY this putatively almighty God does nothing, or worse, causes all this suffering. I ask grievers to forget about WHY, and just talk honestly about their losses, or anything else on their minds. Then I simply listen, for I know that there is always a story, and rarely is it what I might imagine.
It’s very easy to get stuck in grief, so please talk about it to someone you trust, even if it’s not directly about the loss. ‘Tsokay. There is always a story.
PS. What I love most in Job is the role of God/Divinity. After many years, God finally treats Job to an enormous vast, and complete view of ALL Creation spread out before him in 3D panorama. God doesn't brag but simply offers Job, and us, a panoramic vision of enormous depth, breadth, and width—almost too much for Job to take in.
Job’s jaw drops in awe. All he can say is: I know my redeemer lives. You’d think he’d offer effusive thanks. Wonder is quite enough. There is ALWAYS a story!
😉💕
