“Beep! Beep!”
Wile E. Coyote is chasing the Roadrunner. Despite all sorts of sophisticated speed-enhancing equipment purchased from the Acme Company, Wile E. can’t quite catch up to the bird. When Wile E. gets within reach of grabbing the Roadrunner something terrible always happens.
Like he misses a hairpin turn in the path.
And Wile E. Coyote flies out over a cliff!
Beep! Beep!
Poor Wile E. Coyote!
But have you ever noticed what happens next?
Well, it’s sort of like when you and I run into one of those moments in life when what we think is solid ground turns out to be not so solid anymore. Like when the doctor says the word “Cancer,” or your spouse says, “Divorce,” or your employer says, “Laid off.” It’s like what happens societally when the world in which you were comfortably living suddenly becomes a foreign land where the morals, values and standards you grew up with are no longer shared by others, and maybe even YOU question whether they are still true or not. Or it could be like when the religion of your childhood shatters into a million pieces and you no longer know what – if anything – to believe.
Facing such a moment, Wile E. Coyote just hangs there in mid-air, suspended for long seconds over the abyss! A puzzled look crosses his face, then turns to panic. Realizing that the once-solid ground under his feet has suddenly disappeared Wile E. realizes he is about to fall into oblivion!!!!
Only he doesn’t fall into oblivion.
Yeah, Wile E. Coyote does fall to the canyon floor below, but…
…do you remember what happens next?
He gets up, dusts himself off, and re-dials the Acme Company to order some new fangled contraption that will surely help him get that Roadrunner next time!
“Beep! Beep!”
Let’s just say life is like that Roadrunner. You get up each morning and run after life in all its glory – chasing after meaning, purpose, joy, peace, love and all the beautiful things that make life LIFE!
This has happened every day since you were born!
And do you know what?
Every day the bottom has dropped out on you in some fashion or form! You crawled from infancy to childhood, and then raced from childhood to adolescence, and from adolescence to adulthood. You are always leaving the solid ground of yesterday behind! If you’re like me – now in my “golden years” – you wonder, “Where the hell did it all go? I knew I’d be getting old but I had no idea it would happen so fast!”
My parents are gone now, along with my sister. My young body that could seemingly run at full speed forever now has a hard time moving achy hips for any distance without a lot of help from a couple Naproxens. The bottom is always dropping out.
And then, of course, there’s politics. About every four years or so the bottom drops out for about half of us!
Where has the bottom fallen out of your life? I’ll leave it to you to make a list. That would be an interesting exercise!
Beep! Beep!
My childhood religion that was anchored in easy answers is now riddled with questions. Even so, I find something hopeful stirring in my soul. I wonder if it isn’t the same thing that makes Wile E. Coyote such a cool dude.
Faith.
I think it’s called “faith.”
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yetvseen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is what drives you to not give up on the LIFE you want and were created to have. Faith believes in the future long before you can grasp it. You see, God made people to be resilient. YOU are resilient. When life falls apart – personally, societally, politically, spiritually and so on – we can learn from our experiences and then get back up and return to the chase. And we are chasing more than just cartoonish Roadrunners. We are chasing LIFE!
God’s dream for us, our families, our nation and our world is worth getting back to the chase for!
So if you’re hanging out there in mid-air with no solid ground under your feet, have FAITH! And get your ass in gear and keep chasing!
Beep! Beep!
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