Letters From Leavers

Why is it that when bad things happen, Christians are quick to warn you not to “blame God” and to “trust God” for the outcome? And when things finally start to get better everyone assumes it is because “God has brought healing”….so He gets the credit when things go well, but cannot take the “blame” when life sucks. My daughter had been in a wheelchair for 3 years due to various chronic illnesses and a Td shot reaction. After much medical intervention,prayer,  hospitalizations, prayer, medications, (did I mention prayer?) my daugther(age16) took it upon herself to find a nutritional plan for her situation. She found the vegan raw foods diet and intuitively knew it would help her. Short story, after 4 months in this lifestyle she is now walking! YES! Actually, she was dancing around the frontroom tonight! Interestingly, all the people in our church want to discount all the WORK she has done (let me tell you, it takes dedication to juice fast, find intersting recipes, abstain from your former favorite junk foods, etc.) and just glibly say “how amazing it is that God healed her!” She and I have spend some wonderful time with new found friends in this movement (mostly secular) who love her and want to encourage her in her new found lifestyle of wellness.  Now we are both questioning the church “system” and trying to figure out if it’s still a place we want to be. She is ready to move on, while I struggle with the emotional baggage of trying to change at my age. She is asking honest questions about the old testament, the balance of God’s love and wrath, justice, suffering, do babies go to heaven and all the rest.  Not sure what will be next. It feels like I have taken a leap off of a tall building, not sure where I will land. Hopefully it will be with both feet firmly grounded in reality and a heart open to truth.

dedication, God healed, healing, work