Unpredictability

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Tuesday, August 23, brought several surprises to me. A stranger at my door asked me a question completely out of left field, and I experienced the earthquake that literally rocked the east coast for miles.

I’ve heard of tornado damage being eerie in its unpredictability, and I’ve seen some incredible pictures—the wind levels one house and seems to jump over the next-door neighbor; it drives a piece of straw into a tree as a carpenter drives a nail into a piece of lumber; it gently deposits a baby, still in its car seat, safely into a tree, as if laying him into his mother’s arms.

I experienced the same type of thing in the aftermath of the quake. In my home office, I discovered that a couple small tables had moved across the floor from their original positions, yet porcelain and glass collectibles hadn’t budged.

We plan and go about our lives, acting as if we’re in control, but the control is an illusion. We don’t know what will happen to us in the next minute—we may not even be breathing the next minute. We may experience a severe natural event and come through unscathed, or we may lose everything.

I was reminded Tuesday that only God knows what will happen, whether 5 minutes or 5 years from now. That’s comforting when I feel “down” about something, be it financial uncertainty or unwanted singlehood. Tomorrow could be the day that everything turns around. Many unwanted events have caught me off guard, and many things which I’ll always cherish have done so, as well. You just never know.