Uncertainty
“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.” ~ Gilda Radner
People of my generation remember Gilda Radner as the quintessential comedienne. Her role as Roseanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live would leave us all in stitches. Just when she was at the peak of her talent, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away in 1989 at the age of 42. Her husband, Gene Wilder, kept her memory alive as he promoted educational awareness of the cancer that took her life.
We could see a little bit of all of us in Radner’s quote. We all want life to have a perfect ending. For that matter, we want it to have a perfect beginning and perfect middle as well. However, life does not always conform to our hopes and dreams. Life can be messy and unpredictable. It is truly a mark of a person’s character to see how he or she responds to the things that life throws our way.
We need to live in the moment, totally abandoning ourselves to what comes our way. In order to live in that moment as completely as possible, we have to live with our eyes set on what is in store for us in our future. No, not our immediate future or our retirement years future. The future I write of is our ultimate future: that which comes after our days here on earth.
If we are people of faith and have trust and confidence in the Lord, we will be able to handle the uncertainties, the curve balls, that life throws our way. We will be able to embrace what Radner speaks of as Delicious Ambiguity. Not only will we be able to embrace it, we will do so with grace and dignity.
No one promised us that life would not be messy. No one promised us a life free from chaos. No one promised us an easy way out. If we experience any of those, we can consider ourselves blessed. There is one who promised us that He would be with us in the messiness of a chaotic life. That person is none other than Jesus Christ. He walks with us and offers us His hand so that He may be of true comfort in our sojourn. Do not be afraid to take His hand. He will lead us through all that life gives to us as well as through the door of our mortal death so that we may live with Him.
FAITH ACTION: Give your doubts and fears to the Lord this day and ask Him to fill you with confidence and hope.