Adversity is mean. Other words also apply – cruel, angry, and filled with a love of torture. In my experience, Adversity attacks without discrimination. Rich and poor, academics and those without schooling, healthy and those that indulge are touched. Uncertainty is a shared response. Fear is a common enemy. The Unknown comes in after Adversity in a way that shakes each without mercy.
While I have had a chance to catch up several friends the past few weeks, there are still others where I have no information. Adversity is haunting each in a slightly different way. In its presence, I find myself fighting with despair. Hope is fleeting.
As they and I struggle to come to terms with Adversity’s touch, I find that my choices are far easier than I thought. I can either respond positively or fight it. Everything falls into one of the two paths. I have the choice of take action to avoid conflicts and open up the opportunity to make a difference or I can confront and challenge the situation. There are many variations on each path, but the first choice rests in choosing the path.
I am reluctant to believe that there is only one response to every situation. Life throws us curves. Situations demand a tailored response. Life invites each to think. We have the freedom to choose. We can act.
Adversity often eliminates the predictable. Adversity creates wicked problems with no easy or obvious answers. When I look at how others have handled the problems, I find myself examining Paul’s response. “Just as he was about to sail for Syria, the Jews cooked up a plot against him. So he went the other way, by land back through Macedonia, and gave them the slip.” (Acts 20.3) The traditional response did not fit. He had to use his mind. He had to think.
I have no answers for the wicked problems I see in life. Most of the time, they are overwhelming. I do know the path I will choose. Making a difference is, for me, always the best path.
