“Be very careful.”
“Why?”
“Make sure you are deciding with your head and your heart.”
While the words and conversation are years old, they continue to reverberate in the back of my mind. As I consider requests to day, in the echo and uncertainty that plagues your life and mine, I wonder. Is anything certain?
I am not the first to act the question. Centuries ago, a rhetorical conversation played out in the Psalms which turned on a statement by God; “Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise? or take back words I’d already spoken?” (Psalm 89.34) As much as I want to believe, my uncertainty and doubt often dominates my life and thinking.
Let me suggest the following (as much to myself as to anyone wrestling with doubt or uncertainty.
Doubt and uncertainty are healthy emotions and states of being in our lives. They challenge us to see, wrestle with, question and understand, and ultimately embrace more than what we know to be certain.
Doubts and uncertainty are not the same as saying “I do not believe” or “______ is not true”. Doubt and uncertainty are often authentic statements of where we are. Being told that one’s emotions are “wrong” is interesting. Emotions are what they are, right or wrong, they are mine. To others I hope that my doubts and uncertainties are seen and heard as an invitation to dialogue.
Always remember that today’s certainties may become tomorrow’s doubts. Equally so, today’s uncertainties may lead us to new foundations and great opportunity. Each has a unique path with a greater Presence that always there. Regardless of the name we give this presence, love, compassion, and community are universal principles binding us together as brothers and sisters.
Today I step out in uncertainty, confident of the Presence that is always with me. I know I will wrestle and struggle. In the process, I am hopeful that learning and growth will lead to greater outcomes. My thoughts are with us all; may we seize the struggle to make our world better than what it is.
