Karma is the law of the universe. As we sow, so shall we reap. Some karmic cycles are completed within one life, some patterns continue over many lives. Along the way, we'll all make mistakes, but God will continue to love us and the schooling will continue. We never have to doubt God's love. What may be in doubt is our willingness and desire to learn and grow.
While still in spirit, our souls prepare for the next physical incarnation by determining the best way for us to learn the lessons set aside for the particular sojourn on Earth. For example, a soul may choose to be born blind, not because it has been blind to the needs of others in a previous life, but in order to ensure the development of the intuitive self. In this case, blindness is not the harvest of past negative behavior. It is the freewill choice of a soul intent on advancing to a higher level of spiritual wisdom. Jesus gives us excellent advice when he urges, "Do not judge and you will not be judged.
As part of the preparation process, a soul chooses to incarnate into the family with whom it feels its purposes can best be met. A soul desiring a profession in music may choose a family attuned to the benefits of a musical education. Two or more souls may plan to assist each other in accomplishing their soul purposes. One soul may incarnate as a mentally challenged child in order to facilitate the parents� lesson in loving unselfishly. Once more we see the need to withhold judgment. The mentally challenged child is not reaping a negative effect. Neither are the parents reaping the results of sinful behavior. Instead, the child is participating in an act of selfless service. The parents chose the lesson of unselfish love for the present incarnation; the child volunteered to tutor the parents. In so doing, the child�s soul is also benefiting. The list of possibilities or purposes behind physical incarnation is endless. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged."
Negative karma very often appears within the arena of close personal relationships. The Cayce readings seem to infer that a soul�s indifference to human suffering in one lifetime will bring suffering to the individual in a future life. One of his readings illustrates this fact. A father places his little girl in a Catholic home. The baby was born premature and hydrocephalic. His wife died a few days after giving birth. Wanting to know his previous relationship with his daughter, the father requests a reading from Cayce. He is told, "In the experience before this you could have helped and you didn�t. You�d better help in the present."