According to a well-known evangelist, the world was supposed to end today. Thought I’d riff on that concept… Molten lava flows by; fireballs hurl hundreds of feet through the air. Resting on a rock, awaiting the inevitable, Frodo says, “I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things.” (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) Time collapses; the world fades. Suddenly the eagles arrive. They are unheralded, unexpected. They pick up Frodo and Sam and carry them home to safety. This is not unlike what artists feel when they are struggling. Everything around them seems to be falling apart and it…