As we reach the ending of the strangest year known in my lifetime, I feel like I’m simply ending what might be the year of the Turrible Two’s! You remember them, if you’ve ever had children, or been around them as they find start their role of independence. It’s not just toddling about, but running pell-mell into anything and everything. Pitching fits because their world is not going according to their plan, or they are unable to express themselves. Wailing and crying with gasping breaths. Enjoying their tantrums when everyone else simply wants peace and quiet.
2020. The Year of the Turrible Two’s!
During everyone else’s year of acting out, I’ve felt my patience and calm growing. Thinking deeper. Hopefully? Speaking wisdom. Acting better than I might typically act. Oil on troubled waters, so to speak. Still, I know when a snapping point is coming and I feel like I’ve about reached it.
How do some manage the turmoil differently than others? Are we in stormy seasons together, or separately? Roller coasters, as you well know, the front is at a different spot than the car in the very back? We may be on the same track but we are each at different places in time.
How soon till we reach the other side?
As our toddlers grow, we all watch for signs that one age bracket is fading, and hoping we are prepared for the next. Add multiple kids to the mix and you’ll constantly watch these brackets come and go like a roller coaster.
I’m sitting on the sidelines of life thinking. The Turrible Two’s might last longer than we think…
Long Range vs Short Range
Haven’t you ever simply hoped things would finish sooner than anticipated? Name anything that 2020 has produced, and I’m sure you would agree. Sometimes we want the quickest way to an ending, praying the challenges last no longer than is necessary.
The better plan would be to simply know some things take time.
It’s almost as if we have a “short-timers” attitude. You know, when you are about ready to check-out of a job, relationship, or some other such major commitment, you hardly care what’s happening around you.
We don’t think about the long-range plan that gets us through, and only consider the short-range reactions that get us out.
Maybe this is the key.
Getting through vs getting out.
Unless you are older, you probably know nothing about Smallpox… It’s been tracked backward for thousands of years (possibly found on mummies in Egypt) but was only eradicated in 1978. There was a hint of vaccination in our modern world (1700’s), yet it took several hundred years to conquer. In the 20th century, it was estimated to have killed 300-500 million people.
Whew! I’m glad I didn’t live back then… Wait! I did! I survived! I have the scar to prove it!
Seasons and Cycles
A middle of the night restless thought gave me pause to consider, along with the range of vision we have, seasons and cycles. In our piddling existence, we see these as short term events. Seasons are approximately 90 days in length, and only four exist. Cycles depend on what you’re measuring.
We measure most everything by the concept of repetitive events. They come, cycle through the measurement matrix, and then they start over. Sunrise to sunset. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Multiple rotations around the sun. Seconds. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Seasons.
Short events embedded within a longer event.
Still, it’s taken a long time of experience to be able to measure all these things. On the solstice of December 2020, there was a particular alignment of planets where Jupiter and Saturn will shine brighter due to their proximity in the heavens. Though this occurs every 20 years, the alignment that brings them closer than ever happens often hundreds of years apart. The last time it happened like this was some 800 years ago, and the next time will be 60 years in the future. Someone figured out the cycle of the solar system! [Source]
Though we can make sense of the unknown, out there, we have a hard time explaining weather patterns, projecting the stock market, or whether we have enough money to make it to that next payday.
Seasons and Cycles, Long Range and Short Range events, we are riding the roller coaster of life! Some are in a different car, and on a different part of the track. Valleys. Hills. Plunging! Their experience is much different than… Click To TweetPlanning For the Future
You’ve heard it said, “A broken clock is still correct twice a day.” Of course, this is focusing on old analog clocks with hands that spin a twelve-hour cycle. That clock will be correct twice a day for years and decades, unless you fail to fix the problem.
There was a time when many of us walked around with DayTimers and other such planning devices. These analog tools disappeared as technology replaced them.
Suddenly, they are making a re-appearance. Stand-a-lone and/or connected to technology, we’ve learned the importance of penning events on paper. This helps us to plan better because are documenting better. In front of us, and in our mind.
Collect years of planning your day, and suddenly you have a history that can be tracked from the past and into the future.
From Lessons Learned, Gotcha Moments, and other such historical data points, we learn from what worked and what didn’t. This should help us better prepare for tomorrow, next year, and maybe much further into the future.
Codes and Decoding
When I was young, I became enamored with secret codes. In the back of comic books there was a “decoder ring” you could buy to help you write and decipher code. I found books talking about unbreakable codes and soon learned there were machines that encoded, decoded, and broke code logic. Over 50 years ago, there was a Zodiac Killer that revealed his name in code when he identified himself to authorities. Years later, and after many attempts, the code has finally been broken. Only, they are not revealing the answer until they investigate deeper.
You see, the past is often hidden by coded messages. It takes much effort to solve the code. Lest we repeat the same logic, we document the tries. All the while, we keep searching for answers.
That’s a lot of planning!
Take It Spiritual
When Jesus started his ministry, I believe he knew the ending. Though he prayed that the cup of suffering would pass from him (Matthew 26:39), he knew what he faced. His daily message and ministry affirmed that he came to seek the lost, complete the law, and begin a new covenant.
Though his disciples expected other events,
his plan was for them to continue his work.
How? Several years of education would not be enough. He showed his calling by what he did. He collected followers, gave them tasks and missions, and then followed up with their results. As he prepared to leave the last time, he commissioned them to finish the work. They were prepared for his rapid return, even though he never intimated when it would occur. No man knows the day or the hour…times nor seasons. (Matthew 24:36, Acts 1:7)
It’s been several thousands of years and he hasn’t returned yet. When? There have been many false signs that it’s about to occur (1948, 1967, 1988, 2000…). But it hasn’t happened yet.
What do we do?
There is nothing wrong with this question. As we continue to follow the basic training we received, we keep reaching out. Today’s mission is no different than 2019, only the methods have changed. What worked in yesteryear may not work today. Consider this. The new methods of today may not work tomorrow. Life keeps changing, and sometimes we re-enter those Turrible Two’s afresh.
Principles never change, but methods do.
Here’s the bottom line. His Truth never changes. His principles, laws, observances… They are part and parcel of who we are and what we do when we say we follow Him. Methods may change. Society and culture will adapt to the new world. But His Truth Never Changes.
I was thinking about the centuries of our past. God’s plan has been marching forward, but God’s creation keeps changing the rules. Cycles and seasons of ups and downs, forward movement, backsliding, and jumping to conclusions.
This is revelatory! Just as election cycles come and go, so do dangerous ills, wars, and dilemmas. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. Regardless, we must keep moving forward!
“If you can’t fly then run,
if you can’t run then walk,
if you can’t walk then crawl,
but whatever you do
you have to keep moving forward.”
~Martin Luther King
As the human race expands, so does the baseline of knowledge, conclusions, and defining what’s right in someone’s eyes. The sad ending? We often leave God out of the equation.
Adapt and Adjust
We’ve dealt with the Turrible Two’s before! Although this modern world is reacting differently than it might have a decade ago, you must remember.
We’ve been here before!
So. Adapt. Go with the flow. If you are caught in a riptide, go with it! Don’t fight against what you cannot win. Adjust. Conserve your strength. This may be the longest roller coaster ride of your life!
One of the problems I’ve noted is how this current season has changed the way we look at life. I’m thankful for technology. Social connections. Online shopping. They bridge the gap!
However, there’s nothing like being in a room face-to-face with others there for a similar reason. We are struggling with larger event gatherings. All year long we struggled with faithful adherence to our spiritual path. Church attendance has been knocked down to an online event and it’s nothing like it was in 2019! Sporting events. Concerts. Crowded shopping experiences. Everything has changed!
Globally and locally, we are not in the same location of that roller coaster track. Some are still moving up, others down, and a few are at the pinnacle of up or the valley of down. It almost feels like we’re playing the game, “Crack the Whip“. Someone will lose, and a few will win, but most of us are in the middle trying to find our place in life.
Key Thought
Perhaps the key thought is this. Regardless of where I am, is there something I can do to level the track for everyone? Remember that old adage, “A rising tide raises all ships.” Some are stuck in the Turrible Two’s, and we simply have to let them age out. Others are more advanced. Tolerance? Sure. Still, there are many others who will cycle in and through the Turrible Two’s year after year. That means we must be patient, as in, “But for the grace of God, that could be me…”
What season are you in? Where’s your grace? Can you spread Peace? Or, are you reaching close to the breaking point and losing your peace?
“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” ~Aristotle
What do I need more than anything? Can I handle life with what I have? Or, do I need to adapt and adjust. Recognize the season and cycles. Go with the flow, but never lose my future focus.
I am yearning for the days of normality, much like some yearn for those good ol’ days of a prior decade, or century. While it may never return to yesteryear, I would do better to prepare for the uncertainty of the future.
How?
A soon-to-be mother has a “nesting instinct” that prepares for the future baby. In a similar way, I feel a similar instinct to prepare for what I cannot possibly understand.
Are you ready to leave the Turrible Two’s behind? Run. Walk. Or crawl. Just keep moving forward.