500 Word Friday: It Came to Pass

Can I get philosophical with you for a moment?

It’s been a crazy week with disappointments and frustrations hitting people from all sides.  We have states racing to legalize discrimination and strip their citizens of their God-given humanity and dignity.  We have a presidential race that seems to want to vie for a slot in the reality TV market.  More terror attacks, more world leaders being caught up in scandals like the Panama Papers, and on and on.

And that’s just on a national and global scale.  Take it down to where you are.  If you’re anything like any of the many people I keep up with on a daily basis, you’ve got more than a little crazy going on in your life right now, too.  Work, school, family—all the way down to the internal stuff with which people struggle. 

It’s really easy to become overwhelmed and wonder what the point of it all is.  I know I struggle with this.  I really become frustrated with people because it seems that fewer and fewer people are capable of common decency let alone common sense.  Everyone’s pushing an agenda, usually by hijacking religion, to force the world to conform to their expectations and if people get in their way, if people’s rights or people’s lives get in the way, that’s too bad because “our cause” is more important than their humanity.  It bothers me because I can’t turn off my compassion like these people can.  It makes me just want to check out.

Here’s the thing, though.  I frequently have to remind myself that it’s not my job to change the whole world.  I am in this place at this time with the knowledge and compassion I have to do something here and now with and for the people around me.  Sometimes that’s sharing knowledge.  Sometimes that’s sharing material wealth.  Sometimes that’s just sharing my time to listen or my shoulder to cry on. 

Sometimes it’s just not giving up and demonstrating the power of perseverance. 

Everyone has heard the phrase “It came to pass.”  Usually we connect it to something biblical.  “It came to pass that in those days the emperor called for a census…”  You get the idea.  The phrase is normally interpreted as sort of a “Once upon a time.”  I like to think about it literally.  It (as in something) came (arrived) to pass (not to stick around but eventually move on).  Just because all this crap in our world and our lives is coming at us doesn’t mean It’s coming to stay forever.  I think one of the most important things we can do for the people around us is to demonstrate that all of this crap isn’t going to stop us.  We know it’ll eventually be on its way again.

So all of these hate bills that are being passed, all of this ridiculous political BS we’re enduring, all the way down to our own personal struggles:  It will get better.  Trust me.

And if my words aren't a comfort, here...have a kitty.  It's what the internet is for.