Vision Limited

There’s a sign just outside of town, right before a big bump in the road, that reads Vision Limited.  I’ve always loved that sign because it reminds me not only that I can’t see over the bump in the literal road, but also that I can’t see over the bump in the metaphorical road.

This is not to imply that I like uncertainty and limited vision.  I don’t, really.  I don’t go to the lengths of a beloved friend, who functions as if having everything planned and everyone instructed on what they should do will guarantee her happiness.  But I have been known—just ask George!—to make all kinds of rules about what I will and won’t do in hopes of reducing the unpredictability of my life.

Uncertainty is uncomfortable.  That’s obvious.  But certainty can also be uncomfortable.  Too much certainty closes out possibility; that’s a problem because grace—the Holy Spirit—is most present in the world of possibility.  My best plans never are as good as the ones that arise out of that spirited possibility, that not-knowing and uncertainty that reminds me to pay attention.

They’re blasting out the bump in the road this summer.  I guess the highways guys don’t like uncertainty.  But I’m praying they keep the sign as a reminder to me of the grace of not knowing.

Therese desCamp