Have You ever asked Yourself, "Why Me?"

I was struck recently while watching a Barbara Walters special;  I was struck by the question she posed to a family with a little girl suffering with a genetic disorder called Progeria.  She calmly asked the parents if they ever asked themselves, "Why me?"  The Mother answered resolutely, "God gave us this little girl because He knew that we could handle it.  Someone else might not have been able to handle it."  The amount of love that those parents lavished on their tiny daughter was astounding and consequently, the love that shown from their tiny daughter's eyes reflected the love of her parents.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why Me?"  Most of us have at one time or another.  When difficulties come our way, or disease or death, we often wonder, "Why did this have to happen to me?"  I once heard it said that it was not a matter of "if" tragedy would come into your life, but rather "when".  The question is how will you respond?  Will you respond with bitterness and complaint?  Or will you respond with gratefulness and singing, praising the Lord your God who gives and takes away, knowing that He causes all things to work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose?

Isaiah 35

Joy of the Redeemed

 ¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
       the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
       Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
       it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
       The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
       the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
       they will see the glory of the LORD,
       the splendor of our God.  ³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
       steady the knees that give way;
 ⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
       "Be strong, do not fear;
       your God will come,
       he will come with vengeance;
       with divine retribution
       he will come to save you."
 ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
       and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
 ⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
       and the mute tongue shout for joy.
       Water will gush forth in the wilderness
       and streams in the desert.
 ⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
       the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
       In the haunts where jackals once lay,
       grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
 ⁸ And a highway will be there;
       it will be called the Way of Holiness.
       The unclean will not journey on it;
       it will be for those who walk in that Way;
       wicked fools will not go about on it.
 ⁹ No lion will be there,
       nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
       they will not be found there.
       But only the redeemed will walk there,
 ¹⁰ and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
       They will enter Zion with singing;
       everlasting joy will crown their heads.
       Gladness and joy will overtake them,
       and sorrow and sighing will flee away.  (NIV)

WHEN I compare 
What I have lost with what I have gained, 
What I have missed with what attained, 
Little room do I find for pride. 

I am aware 
How many days have been idly spent; 
How like an arrow the good intent 
Has fallen short or been turned aside. 

But who shall dare 
To measure loss and gain in this wise? 
Defeat may be victory in disguise; 
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide. 

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Dear Lord, Thank You for Your place on the throne of my life.  Thank You that although I don't always understand why things happen they way that they do, You have a purpose and a plan that can be trusted completely...