On sidewalks and thumb drives... (or, the sovereignty of God)

(This post is from early 2012. It's a bit silly, but kind of interesting.)

I was walking down the sidewalk with my family when my mom instructed my dad,"Switch places with Ariel so she's on the inside." It struck me in that moment how completely silly it all was. If this was my day to die, I'm going to die, whether or not I'm walking near the road or not.

Before I go any further I'd better make a disclaimer. Ahem. DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend putting yourself in stupidly dangerous situations. What is stupidly dangerous? Use your common sense.

But wait! You say. That's just what your mom meant, she was just using common sense. And I agree. Indeed, I actually began to walk on the farther side of the sidewalk. But inside, I figured it didn't really matter. Yes, I think there's a line not to cross, but there's no use in worrying. I guess that's my whole point. Yeah, put your money in the bank, but if it's in your drawer, don't worry about it. We can be careful, but it's silly to be overcautious. As if we can prevent anything God is going to do. I realize I sound very fatalistic. But I just can't see it very other way. Honestly, people. Let me give you a personal example.

I care very deeply about the stories I write. They are my brain, and I have worked on them for hours. And yet they are only on the miniscule gigabite of data on my harddrive. So I back them up onto a smaller drive, just in case my computer crashes. Is that silly? No. I think it's a natural and wise thing to do, because the chances are, someday my computer will crash.

Now, if I were to back it up onto several thumb drives in case my computer crashes -  one for my purse, and in case I lose my purse one for my mom's keychain, and in case she loses that one for my room, and in case the house burns down one in the safe deposit box, and in case an atomic bomb blows that up..... well, you get the point. It's just ridiculous.

Now someone might say "But what if your computer crashes and your (one) thumb drive falls in the toilet (thereby destroying it) in the same day?" And I usually say in response to these questions, "Then I guess I'd take that as a sign from God to stop writing for a while." I say it half in jest, but honestly, if I took precautions to ensure something's safety and God took it... well, I believe he would've taken it whatever I would have done. And yet that doesn't take away my responsibility to take care of it. I know that sounds contradictory but that's how we humans live! It's how God made us. Please tell me that makes sense...?

 If God doesn't want me to die today, I can do all sorts of crazy things and not get hurt. However, if I did such a thing, I probably would die. "Hey Ariel!" You say. "You can't say 'probably' - God's either gonna take you or he's not!" Right. But maybe the way he took me was by me doing a crazy thing because I wasn't using my common sense. That's not my point. My point is.......

(And, that's where it ended. I'm pretty sure my point was to be responsible, but not to worry. And I just said it in about 400 too many words...)