Would you buy a house if you were only allowed to see one of its rooms? Would you buy a car if you saw only its tires and taillights? Good judgment requires a broad picture.
One failure doesn’t make a person a failure; one achievement doesn’t make a person a success. “The end of the matter is better than its beginning,” penned the sage. “Be patient in affliction,” echoed the apostle Paul. We only have a fragment.
Life’s mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life’s storms until we know the whole story. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” He should know – he’s the Author of the story. And he has already written the final chapter.