Recently my (Christian) granddaughter posted a plea on Facebook for her friends to “pray for her” as she wants to have another baby.
My granddaughter has Type 1 diabetes.
During her teenage years, she didn’t eat right and had a laissez-faire attitude about her condition (typical among many diabetic teenagers). Fortunately, when she reached adulthood, she became more serious about her health and started taking better care of herself. However, her neglect during her early years has resulted in her experiencing some of the symptoms of the disease. Nothing too serious, but as is common to diabetes things will, unfortunately, worsen over the years.
When she became pregnant the first time (which, from what I understand, did not come easily), many in the family were concerned as complications are not unusual. As it turns out, she took care of herself and was able to deliver a healthy little girl.
Now she feels she is ready for a second child.
I’m unaware of the circumstances related to the struggles they had in her becoming pregnant the first time, but apparently they are again present … which is why she posted her plea on Facebook.
Naturally, her many friends rallied around her with the usual platitudes related to prayer. (“Praying for you; Keeping you in my prayers; Keep the faith, there’s power in prayer; Time to get back on my knees”). Non-believer grandma, however, posts this:
Have you considered the thought that perhaps it isn’t in Gods plan for you to have another child? Perhaps there’s a reason things are so difficult.
I was pleased when one of her friends wrote: “Everything is in His perfect timing and plan” as it seems to me this should be the mindset of every believer. If God truly loves and cares for his subjects as much as they want to believe, then why not simply leave things in “his” hands? Why must one petition God again and again and again … and recruit others in the faith to do the same?
Of course I know the answer. But I still have to ask the question.
Nan's Notebook 
Confirmation bias?
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If you beg enough, god will change his perfect plan into a perfecter plan that doesn’t include something awful.
Seems legit.
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It is best not to think too deeply on the logic of it all as it will do you head in.
I used to reason that ‘God’ gave us free will and was prepared to intervene, and indeed would do so, if only we prayed with faith. Thus when my mother struggled with cancer for a decade before dying, I reasoned that the problem was my lack of faithful praying. This fitted in well with my personality type which was self depreciating.
If people die, we reason that they ‘have gone to the glory and their suffering is over’. If something truly inexplicable happens then there is always the old standby, ‘God works in mysterious ways’.
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The “everything in his plan” route is just an out in case they don’t get what they want. There’s always someone who points that out when someone’s asking for prayers. It’s to justify the deity not granting the wish.
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Of course. There’s always an “out” when it comes to God and Prayer.
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There has to be an “out”. If there was not then no religion would last beyond a few years.
We can see the way that religion does people’s heads in, by the way that some cults that confidently predicted the second coming/end of the world were able to survive post their failed prediction.
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My (Catholic) sister leaves “things in his hands”. She’s working on baby #7. And she’s only 34.
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Yikes! I’m glad it’s her and not me.
That Catholic “no birth control” dictum can get a bit out of control.
Thanks for leaving a comment. 🙂
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Praise the sun!
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