Does everything REALLY happen for a reason?

Does everything really happen for a reason? It would be pretty amazing if this was true. Is it something we tell ourselves when we are trying to cope with some unexplained tragedy? OR Is it something we use to explain an unexpected good fortune?

Some things can be explained as being purely random in life and others, which appear to be random, aren't. In my short and seemingly inexperienced life I have managed to come across this question many times. There have been times when something so tragic occurs that the only way to get through it is to tell myself that some how there is a divine purpose or reason behind it. If a child is born with a birth defect, the parents might, to cope with it, tell themselves that there is a reason behind it, that out of every misfortune there is a higher power behind it. When we fall in love with a person, we say its meant to be, there was a reason we came across this person in our lives and then when we break up, we say there is a reason behind that too.

BUT,

What if we are wrong? What if things just happen to people for no reason? Where does that leave us? Hopeless, sad, and in some cases pessimistic about life in general. If the phrase "everything happens for a reason" had never been introduced to us, what would we use to explain all the good and bad in the world? Would be just simply say "that's Life"? Would we just tell each other to "get over it"? Its funny how such a small paring of words can mean so much to someone if said at the right time. How words can give someone hope in midst of some catastrophe, because some where deep in their mind they truly believe "everything, good and bad, happens for a reason". It is not about God or a hand in human affairs that is unseen. It is about the use and abuse human beings put all conditions on earth to, in their search for their purpose in life.

Now, personally, I would agree that everything does happen for a reason. Its helped explain things to me that would otherwise have left me with answer-less questions. When a father walks out on his family, or a baby dies at birth, or a car accident leaves someone in a wheelchair, when an earthquakes kills thousands and a war kills even more..if the only thing left is the glimmer of hope that it all has a reason for occurring well I am no one to discredit what gives someone else hope.

If at the end of the day, telling ourselves and those we love that "Everything happens for a reason" makes them a little happier or eases their pain just a bit, well then I think true or not, it serves the purpose of giving hope in other wise hopeless situations.