DECEMBER 28
“But, Gran, is everything really all right? Really?” It is com-
pletely cosmic questioning, coming from a small girl in a
white nightgown with a toothbrush in her hand, sensing the
unfamiliar surrounding the familiar...I must answer it for
her, looking down at her serious, upturned face...
“Yes, Lena, it is all right.”
And the two little girls and I climb into the fourposter bed
to sing songs and tell stories.
—MADELEINE L’ENGLE“Is everything really all right? Really?” Though it assumes
different aspects at different times, it is our most basic
question. It is behind our ventures into theology and ethics,
behind our anguished dreams, our fears and hopes as we
stand at the bedside of loved ones, as we confront the mys-
tery of death.
There is no way we can know all the particulars on how
“all right” everything is. But if we can trust that behind life’s
mysteries and dilemmas there is a Creator who knows what
is going on and who wishes us well, that’s a very good start.
And then what? What could be better than to sing songs
and tell stories?
I will trust the life that surrounds and upholds me to see me
through.