Running Back and Forth

Excerpt from Daniel 12:1-4

"But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase."

Reflection by Donna Schaper

If evil can be defined as an absence from God, running back and forth can have a tinge of evil to it. If goodness can be defined as the presence of God, running back and forth can have a touch of virtue to it. A lot of us would like to be like Daniel, one who knows the truth of which is which, if ever so quietly.

One of my friends just retired and says the thing she will not miss is her daily commute, the running back and forth. Now she has taken her old home study and painted splashes of new potential colors on the wall. One is magenta orange, the other a simultaneously pale and vivid green, the third a lemon yellow. She has also cleared out the entire room. All the old books have new homes. The drawers are empty. The walls are bereft of their old diplomas and certificates. I wanted her to paint the room in all three colors because they made such a good trinity of the citrus. She is more interested in making decisions. She wants to refill the empty room virtuously.

Will she find the difference between running back and forth in retirement? I think so. If so, I hope she'll unseal the book and tell us how you do it. It may be choosing one color instead of them all.

Prayer

O God, when we fail to make choices, tell us the secret of a focused life. Even if we have to do a lot of running back and forth. Amen.