The news has been filled with stories of shootings, bombings, sinkholes, explosions and other forms of natural and man-made catastrophes. And sometimes we are tempted to ask, “Why? What did we ever do to deserve this?”
This question is a reformulation of the “Problem of Evil.”
Stated in a religious context, the question becomes, “How can an all-good God allow bad things to happen?” My grandson, born at the end of February in Cincinnati, could be said to both embody this question and provide a response.
Elijah James Schurrer was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect known as Truncus Arteriosus. This condition involves problems with the aorta and holes in the interior cardiac walls. The diagnosis was made months before he was born.
The physicians and staff of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital walked Jim and Liz (Eli’s parents) through the entire procedure. Hours after his birth at another hospital, he was taken to Cincinnati Children’s. Within a week of his birth, he underwent nine hours of open-heart surgery.
Eli went home 17 days after he was born with a 3-inch scar on his chest, a food tube in his nose and two grateful and relieved parents.
Welcoming him home was Maddie, his 3-year-old sister who couldn’t wait for her new brother to arrive after having his “boo-boo” fixed.
Those are the facts. But there’s more— so much more.
Eli’s medical condition was the catalyst for one of the most uplifting acts of collective kindness and generosity I’ve ever witnessed.
Through social media, Jim and Liz met a couple from Dayton whose unborn daughter shared this medical condition. A friendship was born among parents sharing a common concern.
Both sets of Eli’s grandparents made trips to Cincinnati to take turns babysitting Maddie, fixing meals and doing laundry. This enabled Mom and Dad to spend as much time as possible at the hospital with him.
When Jim was in high school in Toledo, he made friends with two people, and the three have remained close through the years. When Jim married Liz, she became part of this “family.” Several years ago, Jim became acquainted with Shaun, who became a fifth addition to the “family.” Shaun would later be ordained as a Catholic priest.
Before Eli underwent surgery, Rev. Shaun traveled to Cincinnati from Adrian, Mich., to baptize Eli in the hospital room and to offer support in the waiting room during surgery.
Also present were the two Toledo members of the “family” who had taken time off work to be in Cincinnati. It was truly a “family reunion” based on concern, love and support.
My older son, his wife and their two daughters (2 years old and 8 months old) journeyed from Ann Arbor to Cincinnati and stayed for a week. They took time off from their jobs to care for Maddie, prepared meals, bought food and did the laundry— all the things necessary to enable Liz and Jim to stay at the hospital with Eli.
This spontaneous outpouring of love, concern, prayers and support is as amazing as Eli’s recovery.
These events offer a response to the “Problem of Evil.”
When calamity strikes, it gives us the opportunity to do things above and beyond. From washing dishes, to donating blood, to meal preparation, to changing diapers, to praying for the sick; a calamity can be the occasion for bringing out the very best in each of us by taking care of each other.
This side of heaven, there’s no complete answer to the “Problem of Evil,” but its existence gives us the opportunity to become more fully human during times that test the human spirit.
Respond to Phil at
