‘Love is a maze, life is a riddle and I’m just a bit caught in the middle.’ ~Author Unknown

Abraham Lincoln, a noted storyteller, recalled that there was a farmer who had a very large tree that grew beside his house. It was a majestic looking tree and apparently perfect in every part, tall, straight and of immense size. One morning, while at work in his garden, the farmer saw a squirrel run up the tree into a hole and he wondered if the tree might be hollow.

He proceeded to examine the tree carefully and much to his surprise, he found that the stately tree that he valued for its beauty and grandeur, was hollow from top to bottom. Only a rim of sound wood remained, barely sufficient to support its own weight.

What was he to do now? If he cut it down, it could do great damage with its great length and enormous spreading branches. If he let it remain, his family would be in constant danger. In a storm it might fall or the wind might blow it down onto his home and the children would be crushed by it. What should he do? As he turned away, he said sadly: ‘I wish I had never seen that squirrel?’

There are times in our own lives when we too feel caught in the middle. We’re not sure what to do next and sometimes regret how we got dragged there in the first place. But even in that place that we call the middle, we have to make a decision. We might be pulled in both directions, but a decision will have to be made.

Even Jesus himself was often caught in the middle between those who loved what he was doing and those who hated him for the good he was doing. We pray for guidance, direction and strength when we are caught in the middle. But it can also be a place of growth and a place of new beginnings. So maybe the farmer could have whispered: “I’m so glad I saw that squirrel.”