My . . . how time flies by especially at this time of year. Here we are in the middle of the Third Week of Advent and Christmas looming at the end of next week. So much to do . . . how complex our lives seem to have become.
Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning (of blessed memory) reflected on this a bit in his small devotional "A Year of Days." For December 15, he wrote: "When we look at the complexity of modern life, we envy anyone who can claim innocence. Life can force us into some pretty ambiguous situations. But some of our complexities -- the harmful ones -- are not forced on us. They are things upon which we insist."
Bishop Browning goes on to tell the story of a man who had become involved in an extra marital love affair. The energy that went into keeping both his marriage and his affair going and keeping the two lives "separate" became more and more unworkable and, in the end, resulted in more pain than comfort. By becoming involved with another, he thought he could by-pass the hard questions that he and his wife needed to confront about their relationship. His affair ultimately increased the man's pain and loneliness. What he really needed in his life was to find and walk a straight path through his wilderness.
Although we may not do it in such a dramatic way, all of us at times make our lives more complex than they need to be, chiefly because we want to avoid the implications of the straight path. I know this has been true for me and for many I have loved in life. I am sure you can identify as well: Is there something we're spending more energy avoiding than we should spend facing squarely?
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