Life’s Unanswered Questions

Yesterday morning something was on the pavement outside our house. I inspected further. A shopping trolley was padlocked to a lamppost. I resisted the temptation to look inside the bag. Later in the day it had gone.

I made up my own stories involving old ladies without the strength to get home but resourceful enough to have a padlock, burglars assembling ill-gotten gains, local drug-dealers pausing for a coffee… I enjoyed making up my own answers to the mystery.

Yesterday evening my friend Steve raised questions about baked beans with knowledge and passion. His concerns included… the ratio of beans to juice, the thickness of the juice, the comparative cost of different brands, and value-for-money… We progressed to beans on toast – whether the toast should be buttered, how soggy the toast can get, how crispy the crust must remain, whether brown sauce is appropriate…

Our long, detailed conversation, involving issues I’d never previously considered, reached no conclusion!

Unanswered questions about trolleys or beans may be entertaining but they’re inconsequential.   

Yesterday, with friends, we reflected on Pope Francis, Prime Minister Starmer, President Trump… Ukraine, Russia, China… We had questions and opinions but no definitive answers.

Other conversations were more personal – long-term unresolved health matters, a bungalow that’s for sale not sold, new relationships that are currently bringing joy and promise… a court case, a work problem, church-related anxieties. Difficult questions asked: no easy answers.

Musing… Life’s unanswered questions…

Wisdom: Remembering the old Johnny Nash song:  
There are more questions than answers
And the more I find out the less I know

Example: Visiting our friend David yesterday. In his eighties he lives alone with various physical ailments; his wife died last year. He remains active, quirky, irritating, smiling, positive, a committed Christian. He accepts life and gets on with it.

Perspective: Reading Psalm 29: ‘The Lord sits enthroned… as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.