Little Rose Sugarman

July 7, 2014
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Last November I wrote about our 6-year-old cousin Rose who had recently been diagnosed with a tumor on the stem of her brain. Little Rose Sugarman died a peaceful death last week. She would have turned 7 next month.

Last week our colleague and fellow blogger Reverend Dr. Joe Roberts wrote about how there are times when people question the veracity of the saying about God: He’s got the whole world in His Hands.

Your reaction to this description of the divine depends on whether you attribute to God a sovereignty that rules and controls everything that happens on this earth, or you believe this understanding of God to be that he is the creator who gave us the gift of this magnificent world, complete with its joys and its sorrows.

In other words, the world that God holds in His hands is imperfect, but it is the best one that God could create and still leave room for us to make it better.

Rose’s malady is known as a pontine glioma. The day may come when we will find a treatment that will save the life of a child with this condition. That day will come a lot sooner when our world realizes it is far better to spend our resources on medical research rather than seeking ever more sophisticated and destructive weaponry.

I do believe that God created our world and that our creator sustains it and us through the laws of nature, and God’s yielded to us the powers for good to makes our existence worthwhile. Never have I seen a more real and truer manifestation of this than the circle of love and caring that embraced Rose and her family. Even total strangers brought meals by for them.

Yes, God just might be holding us in His hands, but His hands are felt most strongly when we reach out in love and touch the lives of those most in need. If you would like proof of God’s existence, just take a moment to reflect on the next act of kindness you encounter.

AMS