Everything Happens for a Reason

Had a convo with a friend recently and when I gave him the "everything happens for a reason" speech, he cut me off by saying that I'm too forgiving of when bad things happen (especially to good people). He said I shouldn't say everything happens for a reason because by believing that I'm not giving myself a chance to complain about the sucky things in life.

Maybe he misunderstood what I mean by that.......

Yeah everything happens for a reason. Just because I believe in it doesn't mean that I necessarily accept or believe that everything that has happened should happen.

Pissed as hell that I had cancer. But it happened to me and that's life. Now if I compare that with another tragedy, like lets say, rape, I'd have to say I'm glad I had cancer. I look at women who share their experiences with that kind of tragedy with awe and a desire to be as strong as them. Not a desire to experience what they have, but a desire to take my life and mirror it in my own experiences with the same kind of "keep your head up" mentality. And that's only because it is not within the realm of my being to be able to see myself living past being sexually assaulted. That would kill me. (And here's hoping that God keeps me from ever having to dispute that theory.)

I believe that everyone has at least one tragic thing that happens to them in life. Mine sucks in so many different ways I don't even feel like lamenting on today, but again, there is a reason for it. (Soon as I get hip to it maybe I'll feel much better about it.)

Or for example one day in college I was coming down the hall from the communal bathroom in my dorm. Carrying my shower caddy, all I remember is one second walking, and the next second being flat on my face on the floor. I trip all the time so really the fall didn't shock me. Two other things did though; one- the fact that when I fell the bottom of the back of my robe flew upwards so now I was laying on the floor of a co-ed dorm hallway with my butt completely exposed. And when I stood up of course the cord holding my robe closed had loosened and so all of my frontal goodies were on display too.

The other thing was that when I finally jumped up (and covered myself) I looked around and there was NO ONE in the hallway. To this day I wonder if I truly lucked out and exposed myself to nothing but closed doors or did someone(s) feel so emabarrased for me that they jumped into their room before I made eye contact. (Laughing hysterically while in the safety of their room, of course)

So again, there was a reason for that experience, I'm sure. Embarrassement perhaps, a chance to be a flasher for one moment in history, etc etc. Just because I don't quite know what it is doens't mean there isn't a good reason.....