There's Always a Reason Behind It

As I continue through Tattoos on the Heart one thought pervades my mind; it is sad how very often the gang members that change their lives for the better end up dying anyways. Very often in the book a gang member or as Greg Boyle says “homeboy” will change his life but die at the hands of a rival. Then a second thought came to my mind; it’s not meaningless. If you believe in God, an all powerful and loving God, then nothing is without meaning. Many people who don’t believe in God feel that this is all there is, that life’s only meaning is what you leave behind, thus in death and suffering we are left alone. With God this is not true, everything from joy to pain is pregnant with meaning. It doesn’t matter if I live to be 20 or 90, my life is one lived with purpose and meaning through God, and honestly I don’t care how long I live because I know that I will have lived for something. Sure I want to have a wife and kids, I want a family of my own, a job I love, but I know that no matter what happens it will all have been done for God and that is good enough for me. I have a long life (I hope) ahead of me, and instead of focusing on what I’m going to do, I want to focus more on the simple fact that whatever I do it won’t be for naught. Whether I am joyful or in great pain I know that there is meaning behind it, maybe, if there’s no explanation, that’s the consolation behind suffering, that we aren’t alone; that when you suffer, not only do those who love you suffer but God does too.