Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? I sure have! Today I wanted to share a bit of my testimony with you.
A few weeks ago, I did something I’ve felt scared of doing for years: I attended an auction fundraiser for a foundation that my aunt and uncle started.
Okay, so I know that doesn’t sound like a scary thing, but let me explain.
Seven years ago, my cousin Cody died from a sudden cardiac arrest. He was 18-years-old, a senior in high school, and seemingly healthy.
Except he wasn’t.
And no one knew about it.
I still vividly remember the day that Mom told me he died. I couldn’t believe it.
My extended family experienced such a hard time during the following weeks, months, and years. I questioned my faith and wondered why God would do this. Why would He let my cousin die when my cousin loved Him and lived for Him?
It’s the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people?
And I struggled.
Five years after he died, I wrote this post with more info about what my life was like after Cody died. I don’t want to rewrite that post here, so if you want to know more, you can go read it :)
Anywho, a year or so after Cody died, his mom and dad created a foundation to help kids find out if they have a heart condition like Cody did so that they can catch their condition and get medical intervention and survive.
They started hosting an auction to raise money for the foundation. My family, grandparents, and cousins would go each year… but I’ve always found an excuse to say “no.”
This year though, my grandmother was more persistent in asking me to come. I felt bad about telling her no, so I delayed my answer, saying I’d have to check my schedule.
I had this nagging feeling that I needed to go.
This past spring, my aunt and uncle finally succeeded in getting a law passed in the state of Texas that requires that student-athletes have the opportunity to get their hearts examined in their physical exams. They have been fighting for this law to pass for many, many years.
I thought that because of this new law, this year’s auction would be more of a celebratory thing, as opposed to a sad thing.
But at the same time, I have a hard time ignoring the fact that if this law was a reality seven years ago and if they had tested Cody… maybe he wouldn’t have died…
I felt scared.
So, I asked my boyfriend if he could come with me. I doubted that he could come because he works at a church. We would need to spend Saturday night with my aunt and uncle since the auction was three hours away from us.
But he said he could go.
And I felt like I couldn’t come up with a decent excuse.
So I went.
And it was hard.
After the auction, when my family returned to my aunt and uncle’s house, I wandered outside and wept. I had just witnessed all the good that my aunt and uncle are doing to help save lives. They had just raised tons of money to help other kids.
Good was coming from my family’s tragedy. Yet, I still questioned why God chose Cody. I absolutely hate that it had to be Cody that died for all this good to happen.
Later my mom told me that my uncle has always said, “It took the wrong kid dying for this law to pass.” She told me she disagrees with him. Cody was the right kid to die. She didn’t say that because she didn’t love my cousin, but rather because she’s seen how hard my aunt and uncle have fought to save other people’s lives.
God knew what He was doing when He called Cody home to Heaven.
And through Cody’s story, lives are being saved.
I still can’t tell you why bad things happen to good people. However, I know that I worship a good God who redeems the bad.
A verse that comes to mind when I think about all of this sorrow and all of this goodness that comes from it is Romans 8:18. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”
I don’t know what hardship you’re going through right now friend, but I want to encourage you to keep the faith and keep on trusting God.
