A Mystery Acknowledged

by P.L. Carroll

Description A Mystery Acknowledged is a spiritual memoir by P. L. Carroll. The events of its story are interwoven with a life time of Bible study, and an allegory concerning mankind's collective journey. Together, these three become a meditation concerning the Name of God, including a deeply literal commentary on the seven day account of creation. Creation's story is not trivial or superficial. Interpreted superficially, the account is very deep in unanswered questions - perplexities that demand deeper interpretation. A Mystery Acknowledged addresses every apparent discrepancy, to bring forth the Bible's first and perhaps most important message for our generation. Life is meaningful, and while the entire world is a vessel of sacred mystery -- the garden you keep for the LORD is your mind. Life's spiritual journey begins in infancy. In the pristine subjectivity of young childhood, God's Being is obvious, a directly experienced truth. With that knowledge, however, come questions, like, why would God devise the pain, frustration, tedium, and terror of life? A Mystery Acknowledged is about revisiting those questions. Does the terror of death actually enhance the pleasure and beauty of life's journey? Is it a device, a seemingly cruel device that nonetheless allows us the pleasure we find, and the fantastic beauty we see; partly because fear forces us to look, to think, to remember? Whose devise? God's Being is self-evident; His Justice and Mercy are not. Jesus, therefore, assigns us two additional truths to reason from. He says to seek first the kingdom--that is, the absolute power and sovereignty--of God; and His righteousness. If God is both Almighty and infinite in mercy, then why is there so much suffering in the world? There is no simplistic answer to this question. Instead, it is life's most important quest. There are, however, many competing quests that distract us along the way. There are quests for wealth and dreams of glory. There is the proud illusion of self-sufficiency, though true romance, always a beckoning light, humbles us. Love calls us to vulnerability. There are plans for elegant parties and sagas of noble tragedy, ambitions, obsessions, and politics. These dreams are more compelling than facts or numbers; we follow them devoutly. They make us forget the inevitable end of dreaming. Are all these dreams just shiny idols--deceitful and misleading-or do they also serve as a device just to keep us moving through the Sea of Dreams until we are finally willing to open our eyes and see? Every shiny idol is shadowed by tragedy. Is tragedy a device that brings us to surrender? A Mystery Acknowledged is a personal testimony that in surrender to God, there is no defeat. Instead, from surrender the fantastic beauty appears before us. Again, whose device? Why would He, Who is Almighty, make Himself vulnerable by loving us? Terror, be gone! Your tutorage is no longer required. Let the surrendered soul say, "I have loved, and I have found the Source of Love. I will not test Him. I have seen the fantastic beauty, and it humbles me." Do pilgrims who wander the Sea of Dreams, die, or merely awaken from every illusion; leaving behind an empty cocoon, a relic for loved ones to bury? Somewhere, today, a baby looks out the window at trees, birds, and clouds, at all of it; and in purest sincerity asks, what does it mean? What do trees signify? Is my Maker speaking to me in a language that I cannot yet understand? Alas, babies grow up and sometimes forget how to ask the questions that matter most. They forget how to acknowledge life's mystery.