Why Am I Alive?

 

Why am I alive.  I think that is not an uncommon question, especially among those undergoing some trials, and perhaps some elderly who don’t see a future.  And many of the “wise and good” people of our society are saying: “Let’s help them die in peace.  Euthanasia is good thing to do.”  They might even say it’s a loving thing to do, but whether they’d admit it or not, I believe such actions would only display how much these “good people” are caring for themselves --- “getting these people out of their way.”  Getting back to the original question, the answer is NOT that we were born to die when things get rough.  Pain and suffering, and death, are a part of life, but there is a reason each of us is alive, a reason for the moment we are living in, NOW, even if it is a moment of suffering.

None of us created our life; all life is a gift of God.  After we are given life, that is when we take control, to use this gift as we believe He would have us do, so when this human life ends and as our eternal life continues, we will meet Him face-to-face, and we will ask Him: “How did I do?  Did I do what you wanted me to?”

In recent days, things I am doing have opened up my past to me, and what this gift of my life is about, and in particular, some of the things which impacted other people.  The culture would have us believe our life is totally ours, and we should focus on ourselves.  But I’ve been shown, clearly, how my life didn’t even have to happen, and shown through another’s example that perhaps it was even probable that my life shouldn’t have happened.  It truly is a gift of God.  And recently I ran across some old correspondence, in which some people described to me how in utter desolation they were; they had no hope.  They wrote as if this letter were their last words.  Then God put me in their lives, and through me He gave them hope.  Events that happened weren’t things I controlled or planned, but God knew what they needed, and when I showed up they felt just a little bit of love.  When all hope is lost, the love of The Father is still there, and I was His instrument.

My life didn’t have to happen, but if I were not alive, I don’t know what would have happened to those people, and what they might have done in their despair.  We are not in this world alone, to make ourselves happy.  That is what Adam and Eve chose to do.  We are in this world, among other people, now, for a reason.  Some of us have a vocation, which sets us in contact with others to love.  Love them.  God didn’t create us as robots with a pre-destination, nor for random reasons.  A loving Father gave us the gift of life, so we could choose to do what He created us for, and then come home to Him.

(I just heard Fr. John Riccardo’s latest podcast; he spoke basically the same thing ---- in much better words than mine.)