Why did Dad have to die?

A Christian Friend had an email discussion with me about how her Faith in God is shaken because her father who was a Pastor had died from illness. She had begun to ask the classic question, "Why God?", I wrote her a reply:

My deepest sympathies for your loss. I guess, It is easy for everyone to tell you it is all in God's plan yada yada... but when tragedy happens at our door step its not such an easy bullet to bite.

It IS OK to feel angry with God, I assume you are Christian, and in Christianity God calls himself the Father.

In human terms, sometimes our human parents will do something to us and for us, beyond what we can see, like limiting our TV time so that we can complete our schoolwork or help us save our money for college and in the mean time we do notget to buy the really expensive Dress from Prada.

In saying so, I cannot say for sure God has a plan or what that plan is, but if your beloved father placed full trust in God, then I am thinking you would too... seeing sometimes God gives us situations that we do not like... as a Child my TV time was like a Pot of Pure Gold. I did not see the value of homework and such.

Now that the loss of your Dad is so arresting... maybe its God's whisper to you to continue serving him by honoring your mom? God takes care of your Dad in heaven, while you be the caretaker of yourself and your mom on Earth, until you are able to have a family reunion once again somewhere in the future.

Who is to say, that your loss does not propel you to be as great a man as your Daddy once was, the hundreds if not more people he had inspired as a minister towards faith in the Divine, Love towards Humanity and Devotion towards his Family? Maybe God has great plans in store for you and for greatness to be won, all the sages and prophets of the past had to go through much trials and tribulations, like the forging of a lump of raw iron into a pristine Sword that protects the weak and defends those in despair.

Maybe YOU are going to be that Sword, it doesn't diminish the severity of your loss, but this loss can be used to strengthen you more or degenerate you, the choice is in your hands...

Be Angry! Be upset! Mourn! But once you are more at ease, Heal! Honor those around you... Love those who are with you... and honor the momory of your late father by being as wonderful a man as I am sure he was... For no man can invoke such great devotion and love from a child, unless he himself was truly a great man...

Hope all will be well soon.