A friend of mine is fond of muttering, “Hell in a handbasket, my dear. Hell in a handbasket.” This is usually in response to:
- yet another crass reality TV show in the lineup,
- an encounter with a rude or texting driver,
- sloppy workmanship in an already overpriced product,
. . . or any of a number of other “proofs” that society is unraveling at a meteoric rate.
It’s become so common, we’ve adopted a kind of shorthand between us. My friend now just looks at me and says, “Handbasket!” Enough said.
It’s easy to default to negative thinking these days, though, isn’t it? You look around at the alarming lack of civility among so-called leaders; the deep divides along racial, religious, and socioeconomic lines; the creeping fear of violence and danger at every turn . . . and you can start to despair.
If you’re like me, sometimes you’re tempted to turn off the news, gather your loved ones, and just hide, if only that would help.
“Handbasket!” Right?
But this past Sunday, a single line in a song at church opened my eyes to a really important truth. We were singing “Strong God”* (listen to it here) and there’s a line that says, “This is God in His holy place.”
Just that one lyric was all it took to pierce my heart and change my perspective.
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