Life’s Curve Balls

Life has a way of serving us curve balls – things come at us in unexpected ways.  For many of us these events or circumstances seem to leave us breathless for a moment.  We may feel unable to think clearly and doubts rise up with such energy that we are thrown off balance.

So many have shared their stories of being thrown ‘off balance’.  I listen to the logical progression of their lives and the unexpected erruptions they are experiencing.  ‘Did I do something wrong?’ ‘Just when I am ready to retire, the bottom falls out of my nest.’  ‘After 14 years with my company, I am let go, what do I do now?’  People feel they have been reduced to struggling for survival.

What hold us when life seems to have betrayed us?  I think one answer is ‘we hold each other’.  We need to be with each other as we process the meaning of the moment.  We need to hold each other in faith when we or they feel alone and uncertain.  We need to find new insights and possibilities.  And we need to listen deeply for the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

God is in each moment because we are always in God. We may find it easy to recognize the presence of God when things are seemingly going well.  We don’t always see God when we are ‘thrown a curve ball’.

The promise of Jesus to his disciples was “I am with you always’.  It was true 2000 years ago.  And it is still true today.  The challenging times seem to evoke God’s question to us:  ‘will you let me be with you always?’

As we continue to journey through the uncertain times we are living, may we open to God’s loving presence enfolding us and sustaining us in and through each moment.