Rejecting Despair

Eeyore, the old grey donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.

“Pathetic,” he said. “That’s what it is. Pathetic.”

He turned and walked slowly down the stream for twenty yards, splashed across it, and walked slowly back on the other side. Then he looked at himself in the water again.

“As I thought,” he said. “No better from this side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that’s what it is.”

Eeyore, of course, is a character from the classic children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh. Have you ever met an Eeyore? For Eeyores, the glass is never half full, it is always going to rain, and of course the worse will always happen. Eeyore is the eternal pessimist with the black cloud always overhead.

What about when you look in the mirror? Do you ever see Eeyore staring back? If we are honest, we all know we have a bit of Eeyore in us that rears its sad head from time to time.

The time in which we live is fertile ground for creating Eeyores. As if the horror of war isn’t enough, we are shown images from Abu Gharib quickly followed by the grisly murder of Nicholas Berg. These alone are enough to send any moral, sane person beyond the brink of despair.

It seems as if the world has been ripped from its axis and is spinning wildly out of control off into space. No matter which side we look at it from, “pathetic” seems to be much too kind a word to use. So what shall we do? Give up? Such is the mindset of despair.

For Christians, there is always the glimmer of hope even in the darkest depths of despair. As chilling as the events of May were, we know that God’s grace and mercy cannot be overcome by human idiocy or barbarism. We know that Love is stronger than the loudest “Shock and Awe,” sharper than the sharpest sword, and more powerful than the biggest bomb. These only destroy and kill, while Love participates in the co-creating dance of our Creator.

Therefore, we know that, even if all we hold dear is lost, we have still gained everything because we have participated in the give and take of creative Love.

How can we find such certainty in the cruel times in which we live?

Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Sacred Breath.” We are heirs of that Sacred Breath. The Holy Spirit will not let us bog down in the mire of despair that seems to be all around us. Instead that Sacred Breath will guide us to truth and freedom. It will energize us and give us the courage to make our stand against evil.

“Pathetic, that’s what it is. Pathetic.” I agree with Eeyore. Our times have witnessed events that are beyond pathetic. However, I will not give in to the horror or the fear. I will not succumb to despair. I remember the breath and the power that God has bestowed upon you and me. I remember and believe in the power of God’s creative Love and I know that, overcoming despair, together we will make this world whole again.

Joel t