There is so much trouble and difficulty in the world and in this life. We all live for the reprieves from it. We all scream "why me?", when it's our turn to endure it There is no escaping it. No one is exempt. It comes in all forms, shapes, sizes and disguises, boldly in our face, or discreetly sneaking in the back door, it comes. We expect it, know it's bound to come, still we're never really prepared for it.
There is world unrest, the kind of trouble that falls on our inexperienced eyes and ears. Hearing the stories of starving people and seeing their tiny skeletal children's faces crawling with flies, so "normal" to them that no attempt is even made to wave them off. It's almost possible to see life leaving their fragile bodies. Angry uniformed fighters for whatever god or cause their dark hearts and empty lives attach their malleable minds and bodies in support of, not satisfied until they've dragged as many others as possible down with them into their pits of seared consciences. Piles, huge piles of twisted, crumbled debris representing peoples lives, now buried beneath it, overwhelming destruction and death, total loss.
Closer to home, more relatable, still not quite personal, the government of this, my much loved country, has been on a mission to implode for years, maybe ever since it's inception. Maybe any entity that is entrusted with so much is just destined to fall. Too many opinions based on too little good information implementing rules for a people who don't want to be ruled. It's a recipe for trouble. Then one morning you wake up to the news that some "average Joe" decided he has more trouble in his life than he cares to deal with so he kills, first his family, and then himself, or flies his poor little rich guy airplane into a building because he's mad at the broken system that made the rules that stole what he supposed was his, guess he showed them. Especially troublesome is news of a 15 year old boy that was set on fire by his classmates. What did he do to those classmates?! Did he look wrong, skin the wrong color, nose too big, did his name sound goofy to their ears? What? What possible explanation for such depravity?
All of these are stories of someone else's trouble, my heart can be tugged on by them, I can shake my head in horror, shock, disgust and pity, but the stories are still somewhat unrelatable personally.
Closer still to home, amongst "my" people, there is trouble. There is sickness, surgeries, severing relationships, unemployed, lonely and alone, internal battles rage, spiritual warfare intensifies. With all this trouble, and oh, so much more, why, why do we insist on making even more trouble for ourselves?!
There are "trouble" stores, actual places you can go to buy it, they sell it, people want it! They don't usually stand out, they are a little off the beaten path, they don't really advertise, but if you go looking for trouble, you'll find they carry just about any kind you may be looking for. Onlookers watch as you slowly drive past, go up a little way, do a u-turn and come past again, before pulling away. They whisper to each other "see, that one's goin' down, maybe not today, but they're goin'". Sure enough, one day you tell yourself, with a little "help" from your "friends", What the heck, I'm doin' it, goin' for the gusto, you only live once right?! You grab your car keys, jump in the drivers seat and go straight to the trouble store, no slow drive by, no u-turn, you determinedly pull right in the parking space, turn off the engine, and walk up to the door. There's a sign posted, "please use other door, thanks, trouble", you hesitate for a split second, a chance to turn back, but no, you've come to do this, and this is what you're going to do! Inside it's dark, dirty, and it smells like...trouble. It is at first a little "troubling" but you tell yourself you only have to be there a few minutes. You spot the guy behind the counter, walk over to him, plunk down your hard earned money, money you don't have enough of but apparently too much of, and say to him, gimme some trouble, I want some trouble. He rolls his eyes because chumps like you are a dime a dozen, goin' around thinkin' you're all that, bad to the bone, large and in charge. To him you're just another chump with a bag of chump change, but he figures hey, in this economy, he'll take what he can get. So he says, what'll it be? You say something shiny, not too big, not too small, but if it can flash like a neon sign when I want it to that would be great. He pulls out a box labeled "shiny trouble" and opens it for you to choose. I'll take that one you say, he says yeah, that's a popular choice. He pulls it out of the box, wraps it up, hands it to you, takes your chump change and sends you on your way. As you're about to walk out the door, this time the one in front where everyone will notice, you hear him say thanks for the business, tell your "friends" we're here for them, hope you're happy with your trouble. The door closes, strangely the outside air is congested, you have a sense that something has changed, people are staring again, still, they don't whisper this time, they just stare with their hollow eyes as you drive off. They know, they know where you've been and what you've been up to. They know how big that little bit of trouble you just bought can become. Some of your "friends" pat you on the back and say, wow, cool, but secretly they are just glad they're not alone anymore, you've stepped over the line, joined their "club". With all the trouble in life you have no control over, why would you invite trouble in when it's your choice to keep it out? As you pull away from the trouble store there is a trail of black smoke from your exhaust, your car disappears from sight, only the black smoke still hangs in the air. If only there was a breeze to help dissipate it, or it would rain and wash it all away, if only...
sufficient for the day is it's own trouble. Matthew 6:34b
b.jpg)
