Bad Days

I am always struck by what the editors choose to include in Bibles designed for children. While it does make sense to focus on the more dramatic stories, and skip the generational lists in between, it can make some Bibles read more like a series of short stories than a seamless history. And it is telling what stories are omitted. I have several different children's Bibles on my shelf and not one of them mentions Job. Adam and Eve, check. Burning bush, got it. Man having a very bad day, loses everything and not so much as a mention. I think that is why I brought a broken bracelet in my box today. 

This bracelet is special to me. I like it. I received it when I was in Cuba. I am not sure if it can be fixed and I doubt it can be replaced. And one moment in a frenzy of animated conversation I smashed it against a door frame. That was a bad day. 

We all have bad days and we all have bad things happen to us. And while most of us would not blame God for a broken piece of jewelry, we are tempted to question the meaning behind other bad events in our lives like a lost job, a sudden illness, or the death of a loved one. And then we have Job. Job lost almost everything, his livelihood, his home, his children and his health. And yet he did not blame God. Even his wife said to him "Are you still continuing to be faithful to the Lord? Speak evil things against him and die!" (Job 2:9) Job's friends assume he has done something wrong to bring all this disaster on his head. They encourage him to repent and seek forgiveness from God. In the face of all this, Job remains steadfast. 

Job is difficult. It is not an easy story for adults, and I understand why some might think it doesn't quite fit with the exciting and uplifting Bible stories usually told to children. However Job reminds us that bad things happen to good people. We will experience illness, and grief and loss. I think it is important that children be taught that we may not always find meaning in the tragedies of life. That the bad days in life do not happen because we are bad. They simply happen. And in the midst of our worst day, when we are sitting with nothing left, the one thing we will always have, is God.