Is there a reason?

So last night at about 2:00 am I woke to something horrible. All I remember is a big bang, a feeling of falling, and then turning on the lamp at my bedside to discover that the right side of my mattress had fallen through the bed-frame to the ground. Naturally, I was immediately imbittered. I couldn't understand why something like this had to happen to me... the night before yet another big day at the office (yes, I am very busy today, despite the fact that I've found time to post here).

And it got me thinking. Is there a purpose behind every little thing that happens to us, or do things happen just because they can? If you don't know where I'm going with this, here's a little clue: I'm a Christian, and as a Christian, I believe in God. Having grown up and spent time in several different Christian circles, I've encountered a number of different philosophies out there regarding predestination, free will, chance, luck, omniscience, providence... you name it. Some Christians will say "there's a reason for everything - EVERYTHING!". One time, a friend of mine was driving me to the airport for a flight I had to catch. He ended up taking a wrong turn, and it took us for-the-freak-ever to get to the airport, and I missed my flight. At the time, I was far more prone to anxiety than I am now, and I was freaking out. My friend kept assuring me "don't worry - there's a reason you missed that flight. Maybe you were going to be knifed by a psycho... maybe you were going to be seduced by a prostitute... you just never know; but there was a reason!". Of course, I really love my friend, and I was not angry at all with him personally about this whole thing. But I couldn't bring myself to feel the same way about the thing as he did, because I didn't have the same faith in "everything having a reason". I thought - "no, the reason we missed the flight is because you didn't know where you were going, and you didn't take the time to find out."

Now, after all of that, let me tell you what I really think. Whether or not there's a reason why I fell through my bed-frame last night, I can never know. Maybe the reason that I fell through is so that I'd start thinking about the issue, and then I'd write this post, and come to this conclusion (which I only have just reached, by the way - I didn't know where I was going with this when I started writing). Or, maybe it's complete chance, and, if possible, God had no part in the plan for me to fall through the bed-frame. Whichever is true is irrelevant. In fact, I'm willing to bet that there's a whole different way of looking at this that the human mind is not even capable of comprehending. The fact is, God is so immensely superior to us that we have barely even an insight into the most shallow aspects of his thoughts and plans. And if this is true, then what is required of us isn't necessarily that we figure everything out, and learn for ourselves exactly how God works. Instead, we are to live in a relationship with him that is built on trust. Faith!

Now, who's going to have more peace of mind after missing a flight. The person who thinks, "aw, this sucks! By an ill twist of luck, I've missed this flight, and now I'm down $40", or the person who thinks, "no worries - there's a reason why I missed the flight, and God is in control". Well, let me tell you, the person who thinks the latter in any and every situation isn't going to be suffering from stomach ulcers any time soon. We all know about the ill effects of stress on the human body and mind. In my view, we all have a choice of how to respond to a crisis, or a crappy situation. Whether or not we believe that these have a "reason" per se, there's a lot to be said for the person who approaches it with faith that God knows what's best.

That's all I have to say. Now to find out what company made this bedframe so I can file suite....