I was recently talking with a woman I know pretty well who runs a business in the area.
Her venture is experiencing significant success, so she’s in the process of readying for expansion. But she has mixed feelings as she moves forward.
“I kind of wonder if it’s even a good idea,” she said. “I just don’t know what to expect with the way things are.”
I said I completely understood her unease because right now nobody can really know what might happen or where we’re all headed.
And that’s just an unavoidable aspect of these unusual times. These days, it’s pretty much impossible to have expectations regarding almost everything.
It’s like, everywhere you turn there’s something that contributes to the overall uncertainty.
Economic issues like inflation seem to constantly put more pressure on people.
The military-oriented situations in the Middle East, Ukraine and other locations around the world seem to keep escalating and getting more complicated (and scary) by the day.
And here in the United States, our federal government has gone haywire and is seemingly without any viable direction, and we’re in the midst of what can arguably be called the weirdest presidential election ever.
And while it might be nice to think otherwise, I don’t see the results of said election making much of a difference. No, I believe that ship has sailed, so to speak, and we’re all in for some sort of gigantic wake-up call no matter who’s in charge.
It’s enough to make you want to call timeout for a review, or just go hide in the wilderness.
But while we agreed that the current state of everything is troublesome and deplorable, the woman and I also agreed that we can’t all just put life in neutral and remain in place forever. No, the only thing that makes sense is to continue on as if there will indeed be an at least somewhat worthwhile tomorrow.
“We just have to live and love,” she said, “and trust God.”
That’s definitely a Biblical principle. There are dozens of passages in the Bible about the subject of living with uncertainty, anxiety and fear, and casting those burdens on the Lord.
Nevertheless, it’s natural to wonder what major incident might take place that affects everyone and changes everything. When will it happen? Where will it begin? What will the other side look like?
Those, and others like them, are legitimate questions. And until whatever it is occurs or plays out, there obviously are no answers. Which simply means that until further notice, uncertainty is just a way of life.
But it’s hard not to ponder what that further notice will entail, you know? Unfortunately, I have a feeling we won’t be better off when we receive it, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have a lot more certainty regarding where we stand.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.
