The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… That opening line from Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities has a sneaky way of being rightly applicable to a multitude of situations we find ourselves in here on our little journey through life. I mean, think about it…we are often experiencing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows simultaneously as the lemons and lemonades of life both fishtail around the corner into our lane for a photo-finish at the same time. So, what do we do when the lemonade gets mixed with the lemons and we can’t decipher whether life tastes sweet or sour even if we used our vintage 1980’s Fruit Loops decoder to help us out? We really only have two options: (1) Panic; (2) Roll with it. I strongly suggest the latter!

The photo above captures something of this phenomenon that we’re discussing. Right about where the dark cloud (which, by the way, was filled with lightning, rain, and thunder loud enough to almost wake my oldest daughter from a sound sleep…almost) well, right under that chaos was the yearly celebration that we small-towners still cherish, embrace, and look forward to – The Parish Fair! For all non-Louisianians, that’s our “County Fair”. The Ferris Wheel, Funnel Cakes, and Fun Games were being enjoyed by the masses when old Mr. Rain Cloud had to show up and ruin the occasion for all. Bummer! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!

Of course this reality of life gets a little more serious from time to time. A new baby breathes its first breath and is born into the family and one of the family patriarchs or matriarchs breathes their last. The best of times… the worst of times. The person on our church prayer list finds out that their latest cancer screen revealed that the bad stuff has been obliterated, but your own doctor needs to run more tests to see what’s causing the nagging symptoms you just can’t shake. The best of times…the worst of times. One of your children comes home shouting hoorays for the A-B Honor Roll they just got on their report card while another is bummed out that the best he/she could drum up was a “C” in Chemistry. The best of times…the worst of times. And on and on we could go.

Scripture tells us very plainly that we will experience these sorts of happenings as we mosey along here on Good Ol’ Planet Earth. Jesus said unequivocally that “In this world, you will have trouble.” (John 16:33), and He reminded us that “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45). No matter what, we’re not getting off this fair ride of life without our own share of mishaps and misfortunes, and that’s just the way the Designer designed it. It is equally true, however that these hiccups in our giddyup can be exactly what the Doctor ordered for us to become the version of us that we were created and intricately designed to be. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”.  Could it be that in the good, the bad, and the ugly times of life, God is up to far more than we can actually perceive with our finite understanding of His infinite wisdom? I think so. No need to panic. Trust God, and roll with it!

Some people say that the events that make up our lives are similar to a roller coaster at the fair with all kinds of ups and downs and twists and turns one right after the other. While I see the point being made in that analogy, I disagree, and choose, rather, to illustrate our lives more like a set of railroad tracks. One rail is the Good stuff of life, the other is the Bad stuff of life, and there’s always Ugly sandwiched in-between as long as the track continues. It’s not a good then bad like the roller coaster, but it’s a both/and situation with an ongoing railroad of life. Good, Bad, and Ugly all at the same time! The best of times…the worst of times.

So whether we meet under the crisp morning light as we venture into a Good day in the woods or bump into each other in one of life’s Bad downpours, Good, Bad, or Ugly…I’ll see you in the Great Outdoors!