Assumptions

Knowing what is going to happen is very important, at least to me.  I do not like going into a situation that is beyond my control.  I am not comfortable when I must risk my reputation because of the decisions others will take.  It is hard to let go.  Frequently, results reinforce my fears, uncertainties, and doubts.  There are reasons not to let things get out of control.  Results reinforce that there are those that cannot be trusted to make the right choices and decisions.  Circumstances often tell a story that is very different than the ideal. 
When things change, as they do often, whom do I trust?  I am not the first one to struggle with this question.  Circumstances bring changes to and for everyone.  Knowing what to do is a real dilemma.  In one situation, “they were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him [Saul], they kept saying, 'Isn't this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers?  And didn't he come here to do the same thing-arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?'”  (Acts 9.20, 21)  The names may change in your life and mine, but the questions remain!  Are they here to help us or destroy us?  Are they really on our side?  Have they really changed their behavior, agendas, and motives?
There are no simple answers to these questions, then or now.  It is important to open our minds up to the reality of the conundrum.  Regardless of our answer, our lives will be impacted in one way or another.  Certainty is a luxury that we rarely have in our lives.
Life presents us with an opportunity to exercise compassion, mercy, and acceptance.  We are assured that Evil will haunt us if we embrace Good.  Those we trust will likely, at one time or another, betray us.  Yet, in walking and working with each other as fellow children of God, we discover the truth and wonder of what it means to be family.