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[quote=Anonymous]I am not sure if you are Christian, so perhaps this won't help if you are not, but here goes.

I can't understand why horrible things happen either, but I do feel the presence of Christ in the midst of tragedy.  Why are poor, hard-working people buried in rubble in Nepal?  Why does a 42 year old woman die from fast acting liver cancer - 10 days from diagnosis to death (a situation in my circle of friends)?  I don't get it, but God so loved us that he adopted a human form and suffered with us.  He understands and will meet us in whatever our circumstances are. We are promised his help, not that life will be easy. Talk about unfair - think about his mother Mary - she was a good girl and all of a sudden she was pregnant and had to bear the scorn of a society where that was totally not acceptable.  Joseph - instead of backing out of the engagement - stuck with her also incurring scorn in a deeply patriarchal society.  Jesus was born into poverty and was an exile.  As an adult, he was homeless.  Etc. Etc.

I was sexually abused as a child - why did that happen? - I don't know, but I do think the struggle to forgive and move on with my life has given me a depth of spirituality that is a great gift to me.

I read this quotation this morning and it meant a lot to me in my circumstances.  It is from an interview of an Orthodox priest, Father Braga,  who was imprisoned in communist Romania:

The interviewer asked Fr. Roman whether he was able to forgive his torturers.

“Those who suffer much, forgive,” he said. 
“Those who do not forgive become victims. 
I embraced my torturers, once I saw that they were controlled by the devil.
 The devil is real, not a bedtime story.”

(interview by Kh. Frederica Matthewes-Green)

Prayers for you in your struggle!
[/quote]

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