Off balance. Out of sorts. Rattled. Discombobulated. Lost.
There are many ways we might say it. Though it's often hard to express. Can't quite put a finger on it. But it happens. And it's not especially comfortable when it does. You thought you were on solid ground. But it shifted. You believed you were on the right track. But there was an unanticipated turn. And you find yourself wondering how to get your bearings. How to move forward.
We've all been a little disoriented in this prolonged pandemic. We were bopping along feeling fairly okay about life. And then fear took hold. Panic cropped up. Restrictions cramped our style. Statistics alarmed us. Only a little has shifted with the release of a vaccine. And the world has wobbled in COVID-19's grip.
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 shook us two decades ago. Who could have anticipated such horror? We believed our country was strong. Safe. Respected. Impenetrable. The experience was an unwelcome wake-up call. And in the anxious aftermath many turned to God. A Higher Power. Our Rock. Would God provide a sturdy place to stand? A smooth path forward? Or did some of the foundations of our country teeter when the towers came down? Our country has floundered in the fallout.
Remember that cute and clever slogan? "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!" The now half-century-old toys were weighted in such a way that they might totter from side to side but not topple altogether. We might wish that we were similarly constructed. Made to manage whatever life pitches our way. Wired to stay focused and never stray. Fabricated to neither falter nor fail. Rattle-proof. Blessedly balanced. But instead we wobble. And sometimes we fall down. Fumble around. Bumble and crumple and crumble.
The Scripture readings for Sunday confront us with wisdom and warnings about life's unpredictability. But God shows up in a hopeless situation with a surprising shift. And Jesus promises a new beginning out of what appears to be a dead end. All in all, it's good news for we who wobble!