I’ve been trying to locate the correct attribution for this quote (or a paraphrase thereof): “Everything works out ok in the end; if it’s not ok, it isn’t the end.” So far, I’ve read that it belongs to playwright Carolyn Myers, or perhaps a foreign author whose work I cannot read … one site even cited John Lennon as saying it. At any rate, it’s a poignant thought, and I was reminded of it at Life group last night when we were talking about faith.

The discussion leader compared life to a movie script. When you watch a romantic comedy, for example, you can be pretty certain that girl and boy will get together in the end. That’s what makes it a comedy versus a drama. I mulled over that in my mind a while, but the more I thought about my life as a movie, I realized that mine is more of an action-adventure than a romantic comedy. Periods of my life have certainly had elements of drama and tragedy (not to mention that newborn diaper changes are the stuff of horror films) or even a soap opera, but alas, I think the overarching genre is action-adventure.

I thought about my favorite action-adventure actors — Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, to name a few — and tried to plug them into the scenario that all will be well in the end. Well, usually, yes, it is. Unfortunately, a lot of things get blown up along the way, other people get hurt, and the heroes do not go unscathed before they reach the last scene.

In real life, I am confident that it will work out in the end. I’ve read Revelation, and I know that we will be victorious over the enemy, spiritually speaking. However, I don’t think that necessarily means that my life will wrap up sweetly like “You’ve Got Mail” or “Sleepless in Seattle.” The End may very well be beyond my lifetime. Does that mean that there is no happiness to be found during my lifetime? Of course not. I just believe that we set ourselves up for disappointment if we think that sunshine and roses is the status quo.

Some of the people in the Bible who God used the most powerfully to facilitate great changes in the world had crappy lives, by most people’s standards. Poor Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, accused of adultery, imprisoned, etc. Sure, he finally did rise to a position of leadership, but even that role wasn’t without heartache, as he had to organize a contingency plan for years of prophesied famine. There are dozens of other examples, but I guess what I’m saying is that I appreciated the discussion leader’s optimism, and I understand what she was saying: that we need to have faith in God, even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

I’m just not certain about the happy ending part. Many, many godly people have died – even been martyred – long before they witnessed the fruits of their labors. Humanly speaking, I don’t want to be one of them. I’d like to be able to see the tangible results of my efforts. I’d like to see the boys grow up, stay out of prison, marry godly women, have lots of grandbabies for me to spoil, and all of us live healthy, energetic lives into old age.

Instead, I feel like I’m walking a tightrope over a pit of crocodiles and lava (they coexist in my imagination) while trying to figure out the cryptic code to unlock the next passageway that will lead me into whatever adventure awaits me on the other side of the canyon.