This morning I was walking toward my car in a rather empty parking lot when movement behind the car caught my eye. My first impression was a skinny dog walking on the other side of my car and I slowed down since I was in an area where I had never seen a stray dog before. A moment later I realized the "dog" was actually a half-dozen small birds jumping around as they dined on bread crumbs a neighborhood person strews for them in this parking lot.
I was reminded of how little I can see clearly from my little corner of the world. Even when I can get beyond my own needs, wants, assumptions, biases and vantage point limitations I can never see more than I can see. I mean, I don't know what goes on behind closed doors or what people say or feel whose life is different than my own and I sure don't know what anyone else is thinking, remembering or fearing at any moment.
I know I deal with this vast unknowing by trusting that God does know and that, because God loves us and has promised to always help us work toward our own highest good, I can stay calm in the face of the vast unknowing that far outpaces what I know -- or think I know.
But how do folks face a world where there is so much we can not know if they think it is all on them? Or is all capricious? What if these folks are in a scary and dangerous place like jail or prison? How about if they are involved in a lifestyle that appears to be prison bound? How about if they are trying to recover from prison and find their way in this great unknowable world?
If someone asks you how you keep your emotional balance or stay positive or live with all we do not know, have you got a plan to reply? Are you prepared to have a conversation if someone asks?
Will you share your faith, hope and experience with a fellow traveler along life's journey?
I was reminded of how little I can see clearly from my little corner of the world. Even when I can get beyond my own needs, wants, assumptions, biases and vantage point limitations I can never see more than I can see. I mean, I don't know what goes on behind closed doors or what people say or feel whose life is different than my own and I sure don't know what anyone else is thinking, remembering or fearing at any moment.
I know I deal with this vast unknowing by trusting that God does know and that, because God loves us and has promised to always help us work toward our own highest good, I can stay calm in the face of the vast unknowing that far outpaces what I know -- or think I know.
But how do folks face a world where there is so much we can not know if they think it is all on them? Or is all capricious? What if these folks are in a scary and dangerous place like jail or prison? How about if they are involved in a lifestyle that appears to be prison bound? How about if they are trying to recover from prison and find their way in this great unknowable world?
If someone asks you how you keep your emotional balance or stay positive or live with all we do not know, have you got a plan to reply? Are you prepared to have a conversation if someone asks?
Will you share your faith, hope and experience with a fellow traveler along life's journey?
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