The Road

"Are you there? he whispered. Will I see you at last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God."(pg.10). As I read these lines I could not help but to think that the man was talking to God. Maybe I am wrong, but it sounded like he was so frustrated and bitter in his situation that he was cursing at God. Because of the horrible living conditions and the battles that his son and him had to face every single day, it seems as though (even though it is not really mentioned in the rest of the book whether or not he believes in God) he has no one else to blame for the dark world that they lived in but on God. He had no one to turn to, to get answers from. So why not, right? Who else could hold the world in the palm of their hands? The world around them has been burnt down to ashes, hardly any surviving life around them.
     Even though I would not dare to curse at God as he did, I still act in a similar way. Whenever I feel far from God or as if he has abounded me in unfortunate situations, I too question God. God, where are you? Do you see what I am going through, do you even hear me?  Do you not see the pain I am in? Often I fail to trust in God and to remember that he has never left me nor forsaken me. And that I serve a Mighty God, with unlimited power. This made me think about my relationship with God. Even though time and time again God has always been faithful to me. Whenever its not going the way I want them to or how I see fit, I too question God and let the current situation that I am in overwhelm me, when I need to realize that God is right there with me.
     It seems to me that the boy has more faith and more of a giving heart than his father. Throughout the book you will find the son pleading and weeping before his father to help the people that they run into on their journey down the road. If it was not for the son showing compassion and a caring heart the father would not have fed that old man that was all alone. And the boy even showed compassion for the man that stole all of their belongings on the beach, the boy still pleaded with his father to give back the thief's clothing, so he would not die. The boy never blamed anyone for the battles that they had to face every single day, in contrast he was loving and compassionate for the people who were trying to survive, just like they were.
     This challenged my faith and how I saw things. We waste so much time and effort complaining about our situations and trying to question God for the storms in our life that we don't realize the needs of people around us and how we can with a simple action meet their needs and help them in their situations. I speak for myself when I say that I can become selfish, asking God "what about me", "where were you when I need you". When really God has always been by my side and I must wait on him and in the mean time reach out to those who are in worse crisis then myself and help them with what I have and what I can give. I need to be more like the son and have a compassionate heart for those around me and not waste time with "me" questions and start asking "what about them, Father". We shouldn't worry so much because if God is for us who can be against us? God will never take us where His Grace can not sustain us. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future."