When things were out of control, when things were breaking down, when chaos reigned, my mother’s expression was always, “Everything is at sixes and sevens.” I am not sure where that saying came from but when it fits, it fits. Everything is at sixes and sevens for me these days but more significantly the world seems to be at sixes and sevens.
If you have ever had to sell your house and move to a new location you know how stressful that process can be. I am caught in the middle of it. Trying to keep the house in pristine condition and attractive for anyone with deep pockets who might walk through the door. At the same time trying hard to not live too far into the future and resisting any urge to fall in love with a place that might be purchased before I am ready to take the leap. Not to mention living between two places as I work in one community and try to maintain some semblance of life in another all the while living in the generous and gracious welcome of my brother as I continue to occupy his guest room and sneak moving boxes into every available corner of his house.
But the chaos of my life is so picayune compared to the tragedy that is befalling so many people around the world. The news feed dances from one tragedy to another, one war to another. Ukraine, that is still being ground down by the Russian invasion, barely hits the headlines any more as the Israel – Hamas war staggers us in its destruction. Do we even think anymore about the people of Syria living under oppression and violence? The civil war in Sudan hardly made impact even though thousands upon thousands of people are attempting to flee to neighbouring countries for safety. To say that the world is at sixes and sevens is almost a mockery given the humanitarian crises that unfold in so many places.
One of my favourite writers in Nadia Bolz-Weber. Recently she wrote an article explaining that we are, anthropologically thinking, not created to deal with the all crises of the whole world. Human development gives us the ability to cope with crises in our village, not in every village of the world. That gives me some comfort as I decide once again that I cannot cope with the global news at bedtime. The state of the world is beleaguering. But even with Nadia’s offering to opt out of all the problems of the whole wide world I feel guilty for being so caught up in the small problems I face given I have a roof over my head (well, thanks to my brother, two rooves over my head), food in my fridge, clothes in my closet, a car in my garage, a garage (!), and on and on. The trick to defeating the sixes and sevens, the feeling of being overwhelmed is to find that balance of what we can do and then offering the rest to God or the universe or whatever you want to call that greater power. It can feel like a cop out but I think, when we acknowledge we can’t do it all but also acknowledge we know it is out there to be tended to, we are giving strength to solution rather than ignoring the chaos.
The season of Advent is soon upon us. I always appreciate that Advent invites us into a time of reflection and meditation focusing on the plight of the poor, the unprepared, the refugee, the ones without a room, the shunned. The very heart of our gospel, in this Advent season, invites us to a place of living with those who are at sixes and sevens and to sit in that very chaos waiting for the inbreaking of God.
I think your mom meant we are constantly at evens and odds… moving back and forth as we try to make sense of things that are sensible and those that aren’t. Like our physical bodies, we are always trying to maintain an emotional homeostasis. Smart lady, smart daughter.