Ascension : News From The Grotto - Thought For The Week
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 04.09.2008 (Article Archived on 18.09.2008)

As usual, this past week I’ve been doing a lot of hiking. Wandering around the heritage sites of this island is fascinating.

With my hiking buddies, we mulled over the little treasures we found, the cement pads, the antenna remains and the weird patterns in the rocks.  It’s fun trying to figure out what everything was for.  We make assumptions, based on things like proximity to other places, but, really, semi-educated guesses are all they are.  For example, we are guessing that the WWII camp across from One Boat was probably for the men who maintained the tanks and the fuel pipeline.  But since it isn’t marked on the only World War II map of the US installations which was drawn up in late 1943, we don’t know for sure.  Unless we can find a later map (we’re trying!) we won’t know either.

On another hike, a friend and I laughed about our guess work and how far off they might be.  It makes one wonder if the scholars who lecture on ancient history with such authority really have it right all the time.  Maybe where they determined a village was from all the artifacts that were unearthed might just be where a cart overturned!  It is all guess work to some degree, although based on some knowledge of the civilization, and their habits.  But there is still a mystery that surrounds the past.  I wonder what future Islanders might make of the hash boots buried in various locations! 

It makes me realize that suppositions and assumptions must be viewed with caution.  Even though we know something about the people of the past, and their cultures, we weren’t there, so we don’t know for sure.  We make assumptions and presumptions all the time about people and situations.  How often do we presume that because a person is dressed poorly, they are a bum?  How many times do we assume that because someone might not use the best grammar, they must be not very intelligent?  How many times do we make generalizations based on someone’s ethnic background, education, or religious beliefs?  How many times do we think something about someone or a particular situation, and comment on it, usually in a negative or dismissive way? 

I believe that presumptions and assumptions can be some of the most dangerous things around.  The Bible tells us so many stories whereby people made assumptions and how wrong they were.  We have to be careful not to make the same mistakes.  We’re all human though; we tend to jump to conclusions.  But if we make assumptions, without being in full possession of all the facts, we may be really far off of the truth.  If we then turn our erroneous assumptions into gossip or negative actions, we are in danger of hurting someone.

So this week, let us always remember that we might not know all the facts in a situation, we might be jumping to conclusions, and making assumptions that might be far from what is the truth.  Just as we realize that in looking back into the past, our assumptions might just be guesses, and not necessarily accurate ones at that, let’s rein in our tendencies to make presumptions about others.  Let us always have an open mind, and a forgiving heart.  Let us live our faith.