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Why do bad things happen to good people?

I've struggled with this question a lot in my life and I can't imagine I'm the only one.

War, school shootings, cancer, plane crashes, natural disasters, car accidents, human trafficking. Our world is full of awful things and often I wonder: Why do these bad things happen to good people? I've chewed on this question for longer than I care to admit... and I've never found a satisfying answer, probably never will.

Recently, though, I've started pondering a different question:

Why is God present in the
good and bad things?


As a teacher that floats between classrooms (rather than having my own classroom), I have my students write in their journals at the beginning of class. It's very logistical and practical as I need an extra few minutes to set things up/take attendance. The journal prompts are usually pretty fluffy-- Create a poem about a fruit... or  What was your favorite birthday and why? 


Recently, though, I used the prompt: Write about a time when you felt God's presence in your life. The results were interesting. Most of the girls dismissed it said that they have never experienced God's presence. (With careful thought and a more contemplative environment, I think they would have been able to actually think of an example.) However, what was interesting was that the only ones that wrote about an experience, wrote about feeling God's presence during a really difficult situation-- they relied on that presence to get through something bad.

Expanding on this idea of God's presence, a recent homily at St. Dominic's began with a story of how an atheist converted to believing in something greater just by looking at a tree. She saw this tree and knew that something was responsible for the beauty and life... this something went beyond science... something greater, something good was present in this tree. I had that same feeling (more of reinforcement than a conversion) in November when I spent some time with the Golden Gate Bridge-- Something greater is at work... Something I can't quite explain... The feeling of the Divine in something good.

"Marion's Tree" by Kate Bausch

These two recent stories-- noticing God through the bad and the good-- make me come back to the question from the beginning:  If God is real, why do bad things happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God in that? If there's a God, then why do horrible things happen in this world? Why can't God intervene?

Raven and the Wren by Kate Bausch

As I've said, it's taken me years to chew on these questions... and the answers I've considered may not even be the answers at all.

What I'm getting at in this reflection, though, is not trying to decipher why bad things happen to good people. I could write and write and write... and use the countless writings and thoughts of others. I'd be trying to figure it out for the rest of my life and probably still be unsatisfied with the answer.

Rather, I'd like to propose that we start asking and chewing on a different question. It goes back my two examples in the beginning... finding comfort in God's presence when life really stinks and recognizing God's presence in the beauty of my everyday world.


Why is God present in the good things and the bad things?

I believe that God is present all around me. In the good-- walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, the smile of a stranger, being thanked, enjoying a beer with a friend, running down to the Ferry Building, the birds that wake me up in the morning, laughing so hard that my stomach hurts, receiving an unexpected handwritten note from a friend, or a beautiful tree. The Divine is definitely at work in all of those things. Although, I'll be the first to admit that I don't always recognize this presence in the good things.

However, going back to my students' responses when asked the question about God's presence, I often recall God's presence in those dark moments when there is no reason to see the light. I lean on God in those bad times-- when a loved one passes away, ending a relationship, crying, being really far away from my friends and family, those days when my students get on my last nerve. I definitely rely on God's presence to get through those not-so-good times.


Why is God present in the good things and the bad things?

It's a question that does not require a specific response or answer. In the process of searching for the answer, however, is indeed the answer. With this, the question calls for a reflection, contemplation, meditation on the presence of the Divine in all parts of our life-- the good and the bad.

All artwork in this blog post is by my beautiful mother, Kate Bausch.
If you like what you see, visit her blog or website!