Asking God "Why"

I spend a lot of time--too much, for sure--pondering the mysteries of God. It just fascinates the heck out of me how all of this, i.e. all of creation, came into being. How was the universe created? How could everything, as big as billions of galaxies, possibly come from a single point in space and time? How big is it, really? How far off is science in understanding even the basics of Your works? Is there any life of any form out there, or are we THAT unique? Beyond all of these mechanical questions, however, my greatest question has always been "why?" Why do we even exist at all? I have been asking this of God for many years, always expecting, or even demanding an answer, as selfish as I know that sounds. But God finally answered, but with a strong request.

First, the request...lighten up! I hear this quite a bit from God, but God, unfortunately, has to continually remind me. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

But when I heard the answer to why, my scientific brain took issue, hence the request to lighten up. The answer: there doesn't need to be an answer. God is love, and God loves us beyond any fathomable ability we have to understand that kind of love. It is beyond the maximum capacity of logic or reason or quantifiable definition. Love needs no reason. The answer to "why"...because God loves us.

So relax, lighten up, and just appreciate as fully as you can the beautiful gifts of life, the universe, and everything with which you were blessed. Sure, continue to puzzle out the mechanics for mental exercise, but don't forget that the actual answer doesn't lie with equations or theorems; the answer lies with the quacks of a line of ducklings swimming behind their mother on a misty pond, it lies with the joyful giggle of a child being tickled by his adoring parent, it lies in the perfection of a Spring lily, it lies in feeling the sweet ocean breeze while listening to the entrancing rhythm of the surf with your eyes closed. It lies with heroic acts of bravery and in random acts of kindness and in heart-felt smiles. And it lies with remembering that God is the source of it all.

Thanks be to God.

The Joy of Depression in Springtime

Sorry I've been away so long, friends. My work life has changed drastically recently, and as a result, my regular blog time has diminished greatly. But alas, where there's a will...

And, as both of you know, my two dear readers, I've been struggling with depression. I know I've been dumb, as it's practically sinful to be so glum when I've been blessed so severely, but as I have come to accept, some of my depression is due to actual bio-chemistry, as clinical depression runs in my family. But alas, I'm shaking off the doldrums pretty effectively as of late, and I have to give God thanks.

Spring has become my new favorite season. It used to be Fall, with it's cooler temps, great holidays, coziness, great color scheme, and wonderful family times. But Spring is the season of hope. And hope is everything.

Spring is when life thrives at its most accelerated pace. Spring is when flowers explode the landscape with gorgeous colors. It's when the trees begin to once again green the horizons (Yes, I did just use green as a verb). It's when you start hearing the birds, seeing the squirrels and other native wildlife, and feeling the life-affirming sun on your skin in earnest for the first time in many months. It's when blue skies begin showing up regularly. It's when the ground once again is a willing incubator of life. It is when hope is at its climax, giving one a true feeling that anything is possible.

Dramatic much? I grant you that I am, but regardless, I am thankful to God that hope is eternally present, even when it takes a new season for me to appreciate it. God is unfathomably generous and kind. God is love. Love be with you always.