The Sun Will Shine Again
On Wednesday, it was beautiful and sunny in the afternoon. This week we had a lot of rain again, but on this day, we had a reprieve. I was thankful. I needed to be outside, out and about, exercising and breaking a sweat.
I snapped this picture above near the apex of the road. I am not expecting to win any awards but I thought is just was simple and beautiful. The blue sky, the white clouds, the red barn, the green trees, the country stone lane, the mowed grass with contrasting color of lighter and darker green. Take it in. Don't rush by. I think Soren K. said something to the effect that man is in such a rush for pleasure, he runs right by it.
I walked up a quiet road North of Wrightsville for a couple of miles then turned around. Couldn't quite figure out how it took me more time to get back downhill when I was running part of the way.
Last month at Beer Theology we were discussing difficult verses in the Bible. That is worthwhile. We we were ultimately driven outside by a massively attended trivia night (I guess it is good because people are buying pints from the local craft brewery) and a group of folks engaged in a blistering round of corn hole in the separate room where we meet. Each bean bag slam off of the corn hole wood structure reverberated the shock waves off the cinder-block walls. We distract ourselves with empty amusements and vapidity.
Dealing with difficult issues in the Bible have serious consequences. Is there eternal life? Is there Hell? Is Christ truly the only way to God? Not trivia. Or corn-hole. If I was a non-Christian, I would spend a lot of time investigating these ideas because they have such weighty ramifications. The central thesis is that Christianity claims to be TRUE but in fact a LIE.
One practical issue that carries a lot of weightiness is tragedy. Why do bad things happen to people? Some consequences of course are at least partially deserved. Other times, there is no rhyme or reason to it. Arbitrary assignment of great adversity. You just were in the wrong line, my friend.
To employ the rain analogy. The rain just keeps falling. One's life banks have been flooded, carrying away all those things familiar and comforting. And the rain keeps falling, and falling, and falling. Where is God in all of this sorrow? Just pulling the levers of the great deep, unleashing the flood.
I have been in those times. Where it felt as if God was kicking me when I was down. No let up. Or in keeping with the water theme, holding my head under water, letting me up to take a gasp of air, and then pushing my head down again under the water line. Again and again.
Just more, more, more. And then. More. Part of the issue is that I am a big baby. I haven't really had it that bad relatively. Most of my problems have my finger prints on them. Even with events that were not of my making, still had a constructive end in most cases because I learned some lessons.
Socrates reportedly said, "You should marry. If it is a good marriage, you will be happy. If not, you will become a philosopher." That is putting a positive spin on it. I have pretty low expectations in life which means that I am continuously happy about things most people take for granted. A good conversation, a tasty cup of coffee, a cold beer, a slab of thick bacon on a stick (I will write about this next week). I am really not sure if that makes me an optimist or a pessimist, frankly.
I suppose my take on this is that "When we have been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun" and into eternity, the floodwaters will have receded, maybe leaving traces in our souls but no longer causing any pain and suffering. Some people just won't get that in this life. Hopefully, they will get some sunshine here, if for no other reason, just to remind them that positivity does exist, however fleeting. Here is an interesting example. My spell-check shows that positivity is not a word. But, it lets negativity fly through. Words reveal a lot about the world. That is why I take them so seriously.
The sun will shine again.
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