Today in aforrest's Sunday school class we discussed the U2's "Wake Up Dead Man" in comparison to the absences of God. Indeed the U2 song illustrates the frustrations a non-believer might feel when he doesn't see God with all the suffering in the world.
With that in mind, I had a rather trying week at my job trying to rationalize the presences of God. I had a little 5 year old boy come into my office for a intake( This is when I first meet a client and try to set them up with mental health services. Since I have no available staff due to cuts in Medicaid, I will personally work with this kid.). Anyway, the foster mom of this child was telling me about this 5 year old's abusive past. He had his two front teeth knocked out by his mom's boyfriend when he was 3. The doctor says that he will not have his teeth back until he is about 10. I then saw this boy's back which had cigarette burns on it (apparently he must have been a human ash tray).
Being the father of a three year old, I couldn't make sense of why would anyone do that, or what kind of a mother would allow that to happen to her child? The boy even cowarded when I reached over him to grab a pen. I've been in this business for 5 years and this is one of the more worst cases of child abuse I've seen. The system hasn't really helped this kid much either. They have shuffled him around 6 foster homes.
About the only good I could see to come out of this horrible situation is this boy's foster parents seem to be good people. They have had this child for a year and he seems to be making progress. His temper tantrums are now only a hour when they use to be 4-5 hours. Sadly, this child wants to return to his mother which is not looking like a possiblilty.
Ontop of this, I had a visit from a 13 year girl that I wrote about earlier. When she was younger she was rapped by her uncle. Usually kids that have endured a rape grow up to be a nun or the opposite. She has turned the opposite and is trying to draw the attention of older men. She is no longer able to make eye contact like she used to.
With all this going on, it does make you wonder where is God is all this. I can't fix these kids, why does God permit such things to happen? Well if he didn't, I wouldn't have a job. Maybe I'd be neutering animals (you can make a good living doing that). I can only guess that there is a greater plan here and it makes it more of a reason to seek Him.
4 comments:
Wow!
You truly have an important and trying job. I pray that God gives you the strength you need. Keep up the good work.
When you see first-hand real and horrifying pains, no rationalization ever fits for why it occurs. There are good and logical reasonings when you remove the emotion from the situation and can't empathize with the situation, but logic is cold and empathy is not.
Maybe we see the wrongs in the world just so we know we should do what we can to set them right.
Amazing what a human can endure! I don't think the evil has anything to do with God other than he lets there be free will (my two cents). Otherwise these people would all be cinders. Eventually they will be. That's not a compassionate view on my part! Good thing I'm not God. Better I just pay attention to what he expects of me in this crazy world!
May God bless you in your position to touch the lives He brings across your path. It is so important that the few children you get to see, have the opportunity to see Jesus in you. Thank you for being available to them.
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