The Burning of Uncertainty

Friday was the last day for almost one hundred people at my work. They were part of what is expected to be a first wave of lay-offs. They were given (in what my opinion was very generous) two months notice, so for the past two months we've all been walking around very carefully so as not to say the wrong thing. I've been diving into hiding to avoid the many hostile glares because I managed to keep my job. I am thankful the company values what's happening in my little room. That's all I can say.

The same week the lay-offs were announced, the house I rented in got notice of foreclosure. I suddenly felt like all the problems with the economy were coming to visit me. I started to worry about my job, about finding a good place to live, all of it.

So far it's worked out for me. But I know that next week begins a very uncertain time for some of my former students.

I feel like everyone is a bit uncertain at the moment. Brewing underneath the surface of acting like we are going on with life as normal, business as usual fear and worry and uncertainty have taken up residence in our lives. The news is never good, the presidential candidates are not offering any particular hope, hunger continues to sweep through the world, and violence seems to escalate with every passing second. It's the very best time to believe in God.

The title of this post comes from a Sarah McLachlan song. I love the phrase because it's such an unusual way of putting those words together and yet so true. Uncertainty does burn and is terribly uncomfortable. And slowly, if we are not careful, it can erode our faith in God, and feed the fire of our doubts and insecurities until we use fear as our motivator, neglecting faith and forgetting to trust.

The whole song is beautiful and so even though it doesn't exactly have anything to do with this post, I've attached it for your enjoyment.