Always in the Middle

No one is where he is by accident and chance plays no part in God's plan.                                    - A Course In Miracles  Several Sundays ago I shared a message on developing a sense of trust in life and offered the viewpoint that we are always in the "middle - never at the end." A number of you mentioned that this perspective had been profoundly helpful to your sense of hope and faith in life. Of course, there are apparent endings in life such as when employment or a relationship or any other time bound circumstance comes to an end. When we see these endings as "terminal conditions" we can fall into grief and hopelessness and that's very human and understandable. However, wisdom can reveal a different perspective that can lift us from despair when we are facing change and loss. In life, unlike a stage play, one scene leads to another, indefinitely, until we are no longer on this world stage. One situation ends, gives rise to a new situation, which will end soon enough, followed by yet another scene. Each scene yields the potential for life to become something new, rife with possibility, challenge, losses and gains, sorrows and joys...and on it goes. When we behold our life in the context of life's ongoing nature, we are always in the middle - never at the end. Knowing the story is yet unfinished, how can we judge it good or bad, right or wrong, favorable or unfavorable. The following story, that has been told and retold in many traditions, illustrates how judging life is always premature: Once upon a time there lived a poor farmer who lived alone with his one son. They were poor and lived a hard life. One day their only horse ran away. Their fellow villagers lamented saying, "What will you do now? That was your only horse. How will you farm your land? You are so unlucky." To this the poor farmer said, "We'll see." A few days later the farmer's horse came back bringing with it a wild horse. And the villagers said, "Now you have two horses to work your land. You're so lucky!" And the farmer said, "We'll see." The next day the farmer's son was taming the wild horse when he was thrown from her back and broke his leg. And the villagers said, "Now who will help you work your land? That is your only son. How unlucky." And the farmer said, "We'll see." A few days later the army came through town. They were there to draft all the able-bodied young men to fight in a distant war for their emperor. All the young men of the village, except for the poor farmer's injured boy, were taken away. The villagers watched as their children were taken away. They looked at the poor farmer and his boy and said, "You're so lucky." And the farmer said, "We'll see." Our way shower, Jesus, who was a master of life, cautioned against "judging by appearances." Knowing as he did that there is only one beneficent power and presence undergirding all of life, it is always too soon to abandon hope and never too early to expect a grace filled blessing to emerge from any situation. There is always more Life to come, more good to be revealed, more of the sacred eternal to displace our sense of loss. This is how we pray in Unity, acknowledging the apparent limitation, but then lifting our awareness to the ever present infinite presence of life and love that is endless. This is the good news story of your life, and mine that never ends. Get in the middle of that idea and hope springs mightily.