The Catholic Difference
One of the big themes I had chosen for the school year was Joshua 1:9, which reads, "Do not fear or be discouraged, for the Lord, your God, is with your wherever you go." Throughout the year I have been guiding students to really and truly understand that no matter what happens in life, no matter what pains and ills we go through, no matter where we end up, God is going to be with us and always looking out for us. Its a beautiful reminder I think we all need, that Joshua reminds us of: that God is constantly there with us, constantly searching for us, and never abandons us. Recently, I had a student that approached me and asked, "If God is with us constantly, why on earth do bad things happen to us? And if bad things happen to us, even if we believe in God, why bother believing in God if there isn't any difference?" An intriguing and powerful question, asked by an equally smart and intriguing teenager. I listened to them expand a little bit, and began to answer...