Required Living

Last week I was required to read Journey for Justice; Mike McIntyre's book chronicling the murder of Candace Derksen, her killer's trial 26 years later and how her family coped with their devastating loss. I'm required to write a blog post on this assignment. I'm required to think about murder, justice, forgiveness, and death.

And... that's not a bad thing.

I find it hard though. Right now, outside my window the sun is warm and children are playing. Hank the cat is rubbing his face on my leg. Somewhere else in the world someone was just shot. A young girl was just raped. Horrible things are happening. Right now. It makes you - it make me anyways - think some dark thoughts about humanity. About the future...

Part of the reason I left The Faith was inability to reconcile a loving, all powerful god with terrible things happening to innocent people. That wasn't the case with Wilma Derksen (clearly) whose faith (in part) sustains her through the ongoing tragedy of having her daughter taken from her. I thought about asking her if she's forgiven god. I didn't. Coward.

 

We don't often do things that make us uncomfortable. Even when we know we should. Even when we crave the prize that lies on the other side of action. Why? What can we possibly be afraid of, especially compared to the real horrors that are haunting the world?

So here's a deal I'll make with you, good reader. Give me something uncomfortable to do. Something that will stretch me, grow me as a person. Something along the lines of:

(Matt's comfort zone).......................(your suggestion)

Because being given something to do as a 'requirement' seems to be the best way to get me to do something. And in a very, very small way, I think it honours the dead: living as rich a life as possible for as long as we have that option...