It started on a quick flight I had the other day with my good friend as I questioned her about her beliefs (because of something she had mentioned to my class the day before). I decided to inquire about the difference in our beliefs and it really got me thinking. She asked what if the plane we were on crashed (trust me, as she said it, it didn't sound so morbid...but remember, she was trying to make a point), what would I think about that. I told her I believe that it would have happened for a reason. She said she believes the reason was just because of maintenance issues or whatever mechanically brought the plane down. I laughed out loud. "Really? You don't believe you were 'put' on this plane for a reason?" Her response was absolutely not. So...
Don't ask me how but a similar conversation was sparked in one of my sophomore classes today when I asked the kids what they thought would be ultimate loss (our theme this quarter is loss and love). I had a very vocal student speak up and I must admit, she stopped me dead in my tracks. That doesn't happen very often. In the midst of talking about loss (of trust, respect, self, etc.), she talked about how things just happen. No reason behind them. This class that she is in could be categorized as quite a class full of believers (one of my more vocal religious-based group of students). This lead to a lot of the other students asking her questions or posing what if scenarios. She said, no matter what happens, she believed it just happens, no further message or meaning behind it. She then proceeded to say that when people say "Everything happens for a reason," she thinks it's because they need a crutch! That it is something to keep people away from the basic, true real facts of why something happened (she called her self a realist). =) Wow. This is a 16 year old talking to me. I admit, I was a little speechless...again, that hardly ever happens. She really got me thinking. Throughout the past two years, and really for most of my life, if anything stressful, painful, or challenging (or even quite the opposite for those elating moments) ever occurred in my life, my response was always that it all happens for a reason. I can't get pregnant for a reason...not just because in reality something isn't functioning in my reproductive organs, that's not what I ever thought. I always believed it was something belonging to the bigger picture. This is where I would say, along with others, that a higher being is involved, and in my case that higher being is God. Although I am not always very vocal about my beliefs, I truly believe that my reasoning and explanation made many things easier to get through. Ah ha! And thus my crutch it shall be called!
I told my student this today at the end of the conversation...that no matter what our beliefs, I guess I was fine with having a crutch. It sures makes things in my life easier to cope with, handle, and live through. I'll take that crutch any day. =) The conversation in class, as well as with my flying companion, ending amicably as I knew it would. I just appreciated the opportunity to be grateful for my faith and to reassure myself that there is a divine plan in my mind set out for me...a plan that through twists and turns led me to my 2nd home called Vegas, to my husband, and to my path of becoming a mother. There are more reasons than not in my mind to believe that everything happens for a reason!
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