Oh Bother

Although my favorite response when asked how I'm doing is "Fine as frog's hair, split nine ways and lightly sanded," which would be fine indeed, occasionally I will say, "I'm doing pretty good for the mess I'm in."  I'm not 100% sure where I got the latter phrase, but I attribute it to Grandpa Kenser, who was a man that saw a lot of hard times but seemed to take it all in stride.

I often tell my patients that life is made up of three rotations: You're in a mess, coming out of a mess or about to go into a mess.  I then go on  to say, "So, when times are good, don't get too smug because it isn't going to stay that way.  And, when times are hard, don't get too worried because they aren't going to stay that way."  Whatever your situation, however good or bad, it isn't going to stay that way.  It is going to change.

Ever since Adam and Eve threw a monkey wrench into the gearbox of life, trouble has been man's constant companion.  Mankind was relocated from a paradise with no troubles to a fallen world, which gave rise to the Poohism, "Oh bother!"  In case you are not up on Poohisms, let me give you a sample: Piglet: "Oh no!  Tigger's bounced all over the vegetable garden and ruined the carrots!"  Winnie the Pooh: "Oh bother!"

The precise meaning of the word changes with use but carries a variable meaning of something from "O brother!" to "Oh &%$@!"  Simply put, it reflects our angst in the middle of the mess we're in.  Borrowing from the movie title, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (George Clooney film), we might ask, "Oh Bother Where Art Thou?" and the answer would be, "right here next to you."

The sad truth is that trouble, heart ache and pain are never far away.  Jesus put this truth in very succinct terms, "In this world you will have trouble" (Jn 16:33a).  He did not say possibly or probably but "will."  So if you're wondering when your trouble will come to an end, the answer would have tto be when the world comes to an end.  Oh, you'll have respites from trouble but it won't go far away.

As unwelcome as the above truth is, there is a welcomed glad truth about trouble - it does not have to be the last word for Jesus also said, "But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33b).  That is why he encourages us to "Let not your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God and trust in me" (Jn 14:1).

In fact, our Lord tells us, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of it's own" (Matt 6:34).  Instead, he calls us to "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you as well" (Matt 6:33).  In other words, we don't need to worry about life's losses for God will supply our needs.  The world is not always good but God is good all the time and all the time God is good. God is always faithful regardless of how "bothersome" the world my be at times.  Jus' Say'n.