Ola Mae . . .

Stormy Sunset by Charlie Marczynslo

In the mid 80’s BB (Before Beth) I had a girlfriend who had an aunt and uncle living someplace along the coast of Florida.  I don’t really remember the uncle’s name, so we’ll just call him Jasper; but the aunt was Ola Mae, who could forget a name like that?  The story goes that a hurricane was on the way, so Ola Mae and Jasper boarded up the house and did everything one does when a hurricane is coming and then they went to bed.  Jasper fell asleep almost immediately (typical man), but Ola Mae tossed and turned and paced the floor.  Finally an exasperated Jasper asked, “What in the world is wrong with you?”  She answered, “Well, the storm is comin’.  Can’t you here the wind and the rain?  What are we gonna do?”  Jasper sighed, rolled over and very calmly replied, “There’s not a damn thing we can do about it now Ola Mae!”

Sometimes along our pilgrimages, unpleasant things happen.  Uncle Jasper’s, “Not a damn thing we can do about now Ola Mae,” sounds like pretty good advice.  It has become the mantra at our house.  Check bounces – “not a damn thing you can do about it now Ola Mae.”  Kids wreck the car - “not a damn thing you can do about it now Ola Mae.”  Flat tire - “not a damn thing you can do about it now Ola Mae.”  You get the picture. 

Along my own pilgrimage this past week, I experienced the unexpected death of a close friend of over 30 years.  Every now and then it hits me that I will never see Eddie again and that, as strange as it seems, he is no longer on this earth.  I know such things are bound to happen and are completely out of my control. Yet, despite boarding up the windows, battening down the hatches and deciding to ride out the storm, and knowing there’s nothing more I can do, I still feel totally unprepared, like Ola Mae.  I toss and turn, pace the floor and get all worked up.  It angers me (to put it nicely) that he is gone, and I hear Uncle Jasper cajoling and nagging me, “there is not a damn thing you can do about it.” 

The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament reminds us and complains that despite everything that happens to us, tomorrow will still come, “The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.” (Ecclesiastes 1:5) I have heard one preacher opine, that while life does indeed go on in spite of, and completely oblivious to our travails, we should take comfort in knowing that we can indeed count on the sun rising again.  Life goes on, we pick up the pieces and continue on our journey.  The faith that the sun will rise and set may not help with the cleanup, but it will get us through the storm.

Gotta go, I think I hear another storm blowin’ in.