Finding Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions

My grandchildren are full of questions for Papa Rick.  They riddle and rat-a-tat-tat me with one-question-after-another; why is the sky blue? how come you don’t have any hair on top of your head? can you sneak another fruit snack for us? I’m full of questions, too.  However, to determine which questions I can find answers for and which ones I need to leave alone so they don’t keep me up at night, I’ve developed three mental file cabinets where I file life’s difficult questions.

• The Logic Cabinet- My Dad used to say a wise man doesn’t know all the answers, but knows where to go to find them.  When I put my questions in there, I know that I can find logical, scientific answers to why the sky is blue and I have no hair on my head.

• The Faith Cabinet- Philosophers say that we all look for the answers to four basic questions.
  • Where did I come from?
  • What am I doing here?
  • How am I supposed to act while I’m here?
  • Where am I going?

There is a place where the ladder of logic reaches the top rung and no longer provides answers. A funeral, for example, gives me no answers to the final question beyond logic.  At the end of the ladder of logic, I suspend myself  on faith. I answer many questions through my faith cabinet- that’s why it is important to me.

• The I’ll Know Someday Cabinet- This is where I put all the questions that simply have no answers that make sense in this world. Why do good people suffer? Why do evil people get by with hurting people? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people?

Part of my faith is believing that we are eternal beings.  That’s why relationships matter so much to me; they are the only thing of eternal value. Furthermore, I believe God will, someday, make sense of it all to me. Until then, I sort out the questions and find the appropriate cabinet in which to file them. Perhaps I have no hair because I spend too much time trying to answer the questions that have no answers. If you would like these delivered into your inbox regularly, just sign up for my blog on the left side of my website page.  I promise never to share or sell your info and you can opt-out, guilt-free, any time you choose! Image used was purchased from Istock.com