If you do a google search of the words “tail spin” (the title for today’s blog), it is humorous to me that what pops up is a description of the 1990 cartoon that is actually titled “Tale Spin” – at least it did so for me twice; maybe google knows of my affinity for late 80’s/ early 90’s cartoon shows. While I admit there are random lines from that TV show that are still stuck in my head after all of these years, I was trying to get a definition of a tail spin. I finally found it from The Oxford English Dictionary’s website (oed.com). First of all, “A steep, uncontrolled spinning descent of an aircraft, following an engine stall.” Secondly, a rapid and severe downturn or decline; a state of rapidly worsening chaos, panic, or loss of control.”
Back to “Tale Spin” for a moment: one of the lines from an episode of that
show is when Baloo the Bear – a pilot in this incarnation – is flying
his plane, the Sea Duck.
Unfortunately, he and his passengers endure a tail spin. Rebecca Cunningham (voiced by Sally
Struthers), Baloo’s boss, instructs him to pull up, and the bear says, “Which way
is up?” They managed to get out of this
danger, but I bring this up because this is how I have felt lately.
Last time, I mentioned that I
was in a painful situation. Today I want
to give more context. You see, that day,
March 7, was the first day that one of my loved ones was in the hospital. As I stated, that was a day of stress, pain,
and uncertainty. From early Friday morning,
the 7th, all the way to Monday night, the 10th, this person remained in the
hospital – interestingly, it was the very same hospital that I was admitted to
back in 2023. That’s why I say it feels
like I’ve been in a complete tail spin, unable to tell which way is up. Or, as the second half of that Oxford English
dictionary defined it, “a state of rapidly worsening chaos, panic, or loss of
control.”
While, thankfully, the
immediate crisis is over – my loved one is out of the hospital – this saga is
still not completely over yet even now.
So I’m hesitant to share more about it until the dust has fully settled. However, only now does it feel like my equilibrium
is normalized enough to feel like bringing this up at all.
In this midst of this, I found
myself resonating with the words of Peter in John 6. Jesus had given hard, blunt truth in that chapter
and the text says many of His followers stopped following Him (John 6:66). And Jesus asks His twelve, “Do you also want
to go away?” Now don’t get the idea that
Jesus is being insecure here. He is
asking this to give them a springboard, an opportunity to vocalize their faith
in Him. Peter does so; He replies, “Lord,
to whom shall we go? You have the words
of eternal life.” In other words, “Where
else are we going to go, Lord?”
That’s a legitimate response. Where else are we going to go? Drink ourselves to oblivion with alcohol? No.
How about endless days on the couch, completely addicted to playing
video games? Gorge ourselves with food? Participate in illegitimate sexual encounters,
and pay the inevitable consequences? Like
Peter, I’ve walked with Jesus long enough to know there really aren’t any other
viable options out there. I’ve
discovered that life with Jesus is
bumpy, but life without Jesus is an existence
devoid of any hope, peace, or fulfillment.
Let me conclude with this
citation from Paul Asay. In his book on
Batman that he titled “God on the streets
of Gotham” - a book I quoted from last time, in fact - Asay writes,
“Our faith doesn’t keep us
from suffering. It doesn’t save us from
the anguish of losing a parent or child, the pain of losing a job or failing a
class. It doesn’t keep us from the real
horrors that life can inflict on us…But faith can save us from the mortal blow,
the fire that would otherwise consume us.
Our faith protects us when no one and nothing else can.” Amen! My faith in God has been my oxygen through all
of this. A little later on in that same
chapter, Asay quotes this statement from an unknown source: “Finding God does
not mean building a house in a land of no storms, but building a house that no
storm can destroy.”
God bless,
Kevin
