If I could have just 5 minutes

Sometimes I -really-wish I could sit down with the man upstairs and ask him a thing or two. Today is one of those days.

One of my students lost his mother a few years ago in a car accident. She left three young children and a mess of a husband. The youngest daughter is failing multiple classes. The middle one struggles to keep things together. My student, the oldest, moved out of his home and is now living with friends. He is supposed to be receiving money every month, but his dad isn't letting any of it go. He is supposed to have college paid for, but it looks like that might be in jeopardy, too.

Why is this my concern?

I knew his mother. She and I went to the same high school. I thought she was so, so cool, too. She was one of those people who was genuinely kind to others. She was a lifeguard at the city pool for years, and I always found reasons to ask her questions or talk to her. I really admired her.

I know his grandmother. I see her walking in the cemetery every day as I head towards the track. She worries so much about those kids- She asks me about them all of the time. She rarely gets to see them, as their dad keeps them away from her. She would love nothing more than for the girls to live with her and go to school here. (They went to school here until their mother's death.) The courts won't let that happen, even though they are being neglected.

I wish I could do more, but I can't. I wish I could understand why these kids have to go through this- a life they certainly didn't deserve. They need a mother so badly, and I just don't understand why theirs had to be taken from them. None of it makes sense. I have to believe that there is a bigger design, a bigger reason. But right now, I'm at a loss.

If I could have just a few minutes of God's time, this would definitely be something I would ask Him about.