Mello MistinessOctober 19, 2026

“We are coming to fresh conclusions. All is for our transformation. We become more comfortable with the mellow mistiness of the unknown and unresolved, and decide to be at peace with that unknowing.” Joyce Rupp

This quotation from noted spiritual writer Joyce Rupp was used at one of our recent community meetings as we considered the future. It can certainly be taken on a personal level as well. It calls me to reflect first on my youthful condition of certainty. Certainty provided me with safety. Now, as an elder, I am prompted to ask, “What have I previously considered an unquestioned truth about life, or my life, that I now doubt?”

This question plunges me into the alliterative “mellow mistiness” of which Rupp speaks. Some of my youthful certainties crumble in the face of scrutiny. My life made sense when it was carefully defined by the Baltimore Catechism. The catechism’s tidy answers made everything crystal clear and provided the safety net I needed. Now I marvel at how fuzzy life appears when I struggle to make a decision about my behavior.

Beyond actions, even some of my beliefs are enveloped by the mist. I thought I could describe fairly well who God is. Now I am quite sure I will never be able to do so until God calls me home. Can I be at peace with this mistiness?

I was satisfied that the good were rewarded with heaven while the evil were consigned to hell. I even used to be in fear that hell would be my fate. Now I question whether our loving God would ever punish anyone with hell. I don’t think this is license to do whatever we want but I am comfortable believing that the existence of hell lies in the “mellow mistiness of the unknown.”

Rupp postulates that we can decide to become peaceful living in profound “unknowing.” To choose this state of mind requires that we see value in this choice. I think it is a decision that is an elder’s to make. And I have trust that God will be found in the mist.

Sister Virginia DeVinne