Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Discomfort and Ambiguity

I had breakfast last week with Courtney and Rhonda, two wonderful ladies that I used to work with.  We had a wonderful time and it was so good to see them.

We talked about many things, but one of the discussion pieces was on living with discomfort and ambiguity in this life. In a world filled with ambiguity, humans prefer certainty. We would prefer black and white but so often in life there are gray areas.

Ambiguity is that movement in life that causes us to feel like things are just a bit out of kilter. Change brings distress. Complicated, uncomfortable lives can rob us of peace.

We want things to go back to the way that they were. Remember when so and so was president? Remember when everyone went to church? Remember when the stock market was good? We wish for the old days, but I suggest to you that the old days had their moments as well.

Life is fluid. Life is moving. Our society is big, complicated, technical and mobile. Literally, before we can acclimate to one change, another is coming along. And so I keep reminding myself and others: we prefer certainty, but there is going to be ambiguity. Learn to be comfortable in a world that is not static. Learn to be comfortable with change. Learn to be comfortable with lose ends.  Learn to be comfortable with discomfort.

Our comfort in this life cannot be based on everything going and being just the way that we want it to go and be. The world refuses to align itself to make me or you happy.  Our comfort must be found in trusting in God.  Keep the big picture in mind.  Stay focused.  Stay on track.  Keep loving.  Everything is OK.

It is after all, a beautiful complicated ambiguous day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
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If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

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