I've had the occasion of reading several short stories from Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Many of these stories have a theme that involves people who are dealing with having their world rocked by one or more circumstances. As the stories unfold we learn of the characters' struggles. As they struggle with their circumstances we gain insights about what anchors them, that is what they put their faith and hopes in. As we enter into their lives, we begin to ask ourselves the question "What do we put our faith and hopes in?" This past week, since we were going to Florida on a vacation, I again checked out this book of short stories, which I had not finished, not knowing whether I would have occasion to read any more of them on the trip. I ended up reading The Displaced Person while returning on a choppy, 2-1/2 hour boat ride from Dry Tortugas to Key West, FL, figuring that reading would keep my mind off the uncomfortable journey. So while I was being physically jostled, with some feelings of uncertainty and displacement, I entered the fictional lives of Mr. Guizac; Mr. and Mrs. Shortly, Mrs. McIntyre; and Father Flynn, the principal characters in the story.
Cliff Notes https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/oconnors-short-stories/summary-and-analysis/the-displaced-person provides a detailed character analysis of the short story.
Dove Foundation Movie Review (https://dove.org/review/10940-the-displaced-person/ provides an excellent family film summary and recommendation of the 2007 release of the movie on DVD.
The story is set in Georgia during the late 1940's where a Polish refugee (Mr. Guizac) is relocated by Father Flynn to work on Mrs. McIntyre's farm. The industrious and clever Mr. Guizac, who is the obvious displaced person, becomes a threat to the other farm workers who begin to plot his downfall, until fate unexpectedly takes over. The Displaced Person speaks to the fear of the unknown and how people react to things they don't understand. By the time we come to the end of the story we find that all the main characters, save Father Flynn, either become displaced from this world or from their comfort zones.
Within less than a week (March 6 - 13, 2020), we in the United States have seen our personal worlds rocked in one way or another either by COVID-19 or by the responses of our government leaders, businesses, and institutions. Our stocks and 401(k)'s have plummeted in value, our businesses have needed to implement immediate and significant measures to help reduce the spread of the virus and to protect the company's financial health, our planned large group events have been shuddered, and we are all updating our calendars. Today was Friday and after a particularly long and stressful week my work colleagues were reacting all over the place:
- One was upset because they were "ordered to go home" because they had been showing signs of some virus and it would be healthful for them and us;
- A group of them left work early and invited me to join them as they headed downstairs to the bar for drinks to try and put a happy spin on the week;
- Another magnified a tiny issue into a huge deal; and
- A client spoke of a colleague of theirs who was in misery due to MLBs suspending of Spring Training.
In all this we who venture to walk by faith in Christ can hang onto Romans 14:7-9 (So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.), Romans 8:37 ( No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.), and the many other promises of the God who provides.
