Twists and Turns

Beyond Evansing - Courage of the Irish Kingom

Introduction
After consistently encountering obstacles, complications and the unforeseen unfortunate, Edwin is frustrated. With exasperation, he wonders why everything must be so hard.

Twists and Turns
The following is an excerpt from Beyond Evansing (Beyond):
“Then he sat up in bed and started ruminating about all the experiences since they had resumed the Quest. Nothing but obstacles. Everything was a struggle. Hardly anything just came together without some sort of resistance. ‘Why! Why! Why! Maybe the Quest is not what we are meant to accomplish after all. The easiest thing for us to do is simply be comfortable and build ourselves a nice secure, prosperous kingdom.   Perhaps I should let go of all thoughts on something greater. It is too hard. What is the point?’ Finally exhaustion overtook the grief and anger and he fell back to sleep.”
 If we suffer numerous unfortunate experiences while growing up this can create a stronghold in our thinking and perception of life. As a child my father picked up a small placard stating: “Cheer up the first 99 years are the hardest.” Given the difficulties of my childhood, I subconsciously internalized that statement. Not the best thing for a child to hold on to. Later on as an adult I embraced the statement: “Life is hard and then you die.” Also not a credo to live life by.  These mindsets perceived an arduous life devoid of hope.
 
Despairing thought patterns set us up for disappointments. Even though Edwin had experienced brilliant success as a warrior leader he still battled his own personal darkness from his childhood. This led him to making a fateful decision where he believed the end justified the means. See the following excerpt from Beyond.

 “Edwin took stock for a moment trying to determine what to do next. It was difficult for he had never been in such a situation before. ‘How does an entire troop of men and a severely wounded Percival just disappear?’ He decided to ask his men for their input.”
 
A critical situation arose which set up Edwin to make a crucial decision. He didn’t recognize it as also being a test of his values. Another excerpt from Beyond.
 
“’Supposing you are right, what do we do now?’

‘We have to get a Druid priest to draw him (Donegal Dwarf) out of his cave.’

‘A Druid priest? Are you serious?’

‘Yes, I am. I know where we can find one.’”

The bait and hook have now been set. As you can tell Edwin experienced dismay at the thought of engaging a Druid priest. The Druids were sworn enemies of the Quest to unite Ireland and have created obstacles to achieving that goal. Druidry represented all that was dark and evil and contrary to Edwin’s values. The next Beyond excerpt shows how Edwin failed the test.

“’What do you plan to do?’

‘I plan to lead you right to him, but before I do, I will use an incantation that is sure to shield all of us from the Dwarf’s magic.’

‘Wait a minute, how do we know you won’t put us under some harmful spell?’

At this moment, Leif spoke up, ‘Sir, I know this man by reputation. Even though he is a Druid he is an honorable man.’

Edwin struggled within himself whether he should delve further into using the Druid’s help. He knew that allowing himself to be willingly placed under a Druid incantation was the last thing Percival would have wanted. Yet what was he to do? His dear friend Percival may still be alive, and of course the missing men were his valued friends and fellow warriors. Surely the circumstances justified him foregoing his normal standards of avoiding any dark side magic.

With a sigh he said, ‘All right let’s do it.’”

This decision leads to Edwin and his men ending up in the same position as the men he wanted to rescue. He then realizes he made a serious mistake in judgment. We can be in a situation where if we would have considered another option or willing to wait a little longer the right solution would come. Edwin’s darkness narrowed his sense of options in a difficult place. This resulted in his willingness to entrust himself to someone whose values and goals in life were totally opposite to his own.

Betraying our heart by violating our principles is never a good idea. The twists and turns of life can pressure us to justify such decisions. They always produce regret and cause more loss than gain. Even if they seem to produce profit in the short-run they cost more in the long-run.

Jordan Peterson has said it is important to recognize life is hard and to develop the character and discipline necessary to succeed in life. We know life is hard. We have two choices, either let the hardness warp us or let it build us. In the book of Romans, The Passion Translation, it states:”…every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives…”  We must embrace the truth of knowing how the twists and turns of life can be a source of benefit.

Conclusion
Everyone experiences those seasons when seemingly everything is against us and nothing comes easy. Our progress is like walking in heavy cement. All we can do is focus on putting one foot in front of the other and trust life will turn around for us.

Fortunately, Edwin often experienced the support of Greer, his supportive wife and valuable friends in Percival and Darcy. Together they worked to keep Edwin calm, rational and able to stay the course. He experienced the deposits of their previous support, even when they were not physically present.