Why me, God?

Have you ever wondered “Why me, God?”  I have.  I’ve wondered why I have to be one of the people in the world who has to struggle SO hard to lose weight when I’m surrounded by people who have no trouble stopping when they’re full or who actually CRAVE carrot sticks and raw celery (personally, I think they’re lying and secretly hate those stringy green stalks as much as I do).  I’ve wanted God to either tell me why I have to go through this or just make it go away.  Some might say that since I’m perfect in every other way, I have to have one thing that keeps me humble, but I’m not so sure…
Well, yesterday I met someone who could have asked, who should have asked, “Why me, God?”  but didn’t.  I went to Phil Campbell to drop off a mailbox our church purchased for a family that lost their house in the tornado.  I expected to see damage but I did not expect to find the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.  The only thing missing from this scene was the mushroom cloud on the horizon (see pictures below).

This young woman and her husband lost their trailer, all of their belongings, most of their pets and acres of timber ready for harvest.  The woman had actually been sucked out of her trailer into the tornado where she pretty much looked into the eyes of one seriously confused cow before she was dropped 52 feet straight down to the ground.  She was then picked up again and thrown 25 feet right at the threshold of their storm shelter.

As I stood in the midst of their loss and gazed at unimaginable devastation, as I listened to this woman tell her story, I thought about myself and my own question, “Why me, God?” and I realized that my struggle is more of a blessing than a curse.  As I continue to face myself in the mirror and become more and more honest with myself, God and all of you, I’m simply becoming a stronger and better person.  I haven’t lost anything (except pounds I hope!). I have no cause for grief or pain or anguish (except when I’m facing down a particularly delicious piece of chocolate cake).  I have nothing to rebuild but my own sense of self-worth.

So, today, instead of saying, “Why me, God?”  my prayer will be, “Thank you, God!”