A Crazy World We Live In

Last night I stayed up to watch "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." It was his first show as the host, and although I am not a fan of Mr. Fallon, I got through the Robert DeNiro interview, the Justin Timberlake musical impressions (quite funny actually) just to hear Van Morrison do a number of his newest art work "Astral Weeks." (It's actually an"old" Van Morrison album that he's re-created, which is just another of the oddities of his brilliant musical gift.)
So the next day begins, after a short nap, and I go to work...but I do not work like most folks do with a time clock, a manager, a job to do so that something gets done,...I work on telling the truth...(I know, it sounds easy, and our mothers reminded us before we ever left for kindergarten to tell the truth...but really, how much do you believe that you see and hear?) I mean, what are we supposed to make of this stimulus package and all these bailouts? Is it good? Is it bad? Does it matter? People are losing confidence, they're getting scared of tomorrow, they're feeling as if life's out of control (and no amount of home equity is going to rein in the chaos)...so what do we do with things like the "stimulus?" A "stimulus" is supposed to rouse people to energy and activity, and all ours has succeeded in doing is rousing us to crawl into a corner, curl up in a ball, and weep...
So how do you tell the truth these days? Everyone wants to be comfortable, have a home, some people to talk to and trust, some food, maybe something to while away the hours until death...but we're all going to die anyhow, why not in a depression? I mean, if God is true, if what the Christians have said for centuries is true, then what does the economic trouble really matter? Of course, if the relationship is not true, if God truly does not care for us, then, we'd best get busy...but I do believe God has plan for me, a relationship with me that goes beyond my comfort, goes beyond my economic security, and provides me with a courage to trust others in the same way...So, yeah, I have way less money than I did 3 years ago, yes, my house isn't an ATM anymore, that's all true...but it's also true that I'm still here...and that seems to matter somehow too...
That's why it's important during times of "depression" that we get out of the house and get together with people. Dart Leagues, coffee hours, Prairie Table worship or Bible Study, something that speaks to the deepest truth of our lives...we are in this together...You, God, your neighbor, your enemy...all of us are part of the grand fabric woven into time and space....one of my favorite Van Morrison lyrics goes something like this "It's just you and I in nature, with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, standing, standing in the garden, wet with rain." It is true that it may be raining, but it is also true that you are not alone...and for me, that's the only thing that keeps me standing.