We learn the rope of life by untying its knots.
-- Jean Toomer

Life has so many twists and turns, thousands of ups and downs, and a great many valleys and mountains. Each one of them may have more depth than the one just before it, or it may be a less worrisome time or trial. Nonetheless, each of us is faced constantly with the fluctuations, the occurrences of knots (bad times) and bends (good times).

Nobody’s life rope is totally straight. All of us have knots and bends to go through. But it’s only by going through the knots and bends that we can appreciate the life we’ve been given. When the bad times hit us – the money’s low to none, sickness takes over, relationships fail – we are forlorn and wonder why we have to go through this. During the bad times we wonder how we got to this place and who we can blame for the pain we’re enduring. But it’s also during the bad times that we work hardest to get everything right, and, when it’s right, times are good. It’s during the good times that we are able to make sense of the tough stuff, and when we make sense of the tough stuff, we are better prepared for the next knot we come to. At the next knot, because we dissected the bad while times were good, we may not have to stay knotted up in one place for so long.

In the book of Ecclesiastes (7:14a), the Questor tells us that God sends both good and bad days so that you won’t take anything for granted. God sends the sunshine and the rain, the locusts and the rainbows so that we can grow and believe more fully in Him. Finding the message, lesson, and blessing in it all is the trick to living life fully and abundantly.

Our rope of life may be severely knotted in several different places, suggesting that the trials we go through are long and hard. The bends in our life rope may be too few; perhaps the good times come sparingly. But if you hold tightly to God, your true self, and some good friends when you hit those knots and try desperately to untie them, you’ll find the knots not so difficult to untie, and some of them will be manageable tied. You’ll notice the bends you create become more abundant and booming as you look forward to getting the knots straightened out. But most importantly, you’ll realize that if there were no knots, you might get rope burn from simply sliding freely, yet purposelessly through life.

Be thankful for the knots, twists, and valleys. Without them, how would you know or how could you appreciate the full extent of life?

Sadiqqa © 2007