When Bad Things Happen To Good People

Over the weekend my husband and I had quite the wake up call. At 4 a.m. on Saturday morning my mother-in-law called my phone and asked me if Matthew could come pick her up and take her to the hospital. She was very upset and said my father-in-law had been beat up on his paper route. She did not know any other details, so in my half awake state I told her I'd call her right back.

Thankfully Matthew woke up after hearing the phone rang and jumped out of bed quickly to head to his parents' house. After he left my mind immediately started to wonder "What the heck happened!?" My father-in-law has done this paper route for four years now and the only incidents we've heard of are when he'd stumble across a drunk hanging out on the sidewalk or see wild turkeys. And, he now drives a rural route with a few stops in a couple of trailer parks.

I finally went back to sleep and woke up at 7 a.m. to call Matthew. He and his mom were still sitting in the ER with my father-in-law. I could tell by Matthew's tone of voice that things were not good and he said his dad had two broken eye sockets and many more bones in his face broken. In fact, he told me one of his eyes was so swollen it was the size of a peach. A PEACH!

I immediately said "Why would someone do this to him?" and Matthew said it appears to be an act of random violence. My father-in-law was in the wrong place at the wrong time and for that he must pay the consequences. Now, if you know my father-in-law you know he'd never hurt a fly and despite the many odds stacked against him, he is usually a happy guy with a story to tell. Well, he will have quite the story to tell for the rest of his life.

It is hard to imagine someone being so angry they would stomp on someone's face. Seriously? Have you ever been that angry? I have never been that angry, even during childbirth with NO drugs to relive the pain or when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I have a temper people. Just ask my family. I can throw a big fit and lash out like no other, but I have never wanted to injure someone so badly that their eye swelled to the size of a PEACH! And, I am currently living with two boys ages 2 and under who test my patience every day, especially when they turn the TV on and off repeatedly despite being told it will burn out the bulb or pee all over the bathroom floor EVERY time!

So, I know we will never know why this happened or why God allows bad things to happen to good people, but I do know we are humans and we make mistakes. There is a heaven and a hell for a reason and I will not be the ultimate judge of these people who wronged my father-in-law, but I hope they are sorry.