Advent: a Time of Waiting

It's been a while since I wrote. I hurt my thumb four weeks ago and while I could still type as a 9 finger typist, somehow having only one opposable thumb and being a bit of a hypochondriac about it made me slow down a lot of activities in general.

It did make me think though that sometimes it's better just to wait and this is the season of Advent after all. A time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

It's been a good year in some ways but also I have been impatient in the recent few months for things to happen and it always seems to take forever. So like with my thumb, even though there are little signs of improvement and growth and the new pink skin growing underneath and the old skin on top flaking off, I'm still impatient. However I know only too well that trying to pick at the scab or trying to exercise it too vigorously at this stage can only set the healing process back and create more scarring. So sometimes it really is better to do nothing and let nature take its course.

But it's forced me to reflect more about how necessary it is to be sensitive and wait sometimes. Not to intervene or to intervene only very precisely and accurately, almost like a surgeon going in, only to fix that one little thing that's wrong and not do any harm otherwise. Otherwise sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease. Again my thumb has areas of slight numbness and I can't help wondering if it's the internal scar tissue and inflammation that's causing it or was it the injection that harmed the nerve a little. Who knows, but it's so very important to just not do any harm by being as precise and as sensitive as possible when dealing with practically everything in our lives but most especially living things, human beings and relationships whether these are at work, at home or just general dealings with people i don't know so well.

So it was very comforting to me, in this time where I can be frustrated with waiting, to read a passage from a book I have and it quoted Psalm 4:1,3, heading it with the title: "God answers your call" and it went

"Answer me when I call, O God of my right! you gave me room when I was in distress....The Lord hears when I call to Him."

And the reflection was, to Trust that God will provide. I quote, "Have you ever turned a problem over to God, only to take it right back? Maybe you didn't really believe God could help. Maybe you got tired of waiting for a response (God's answers don't always come on our schedule). Whatever the reason, the end result is the same - more stress, right back on your shoulders!

Next time you turn over a problem, really turn it over. Trust God to take care of it. You'll be glad you did. "

It's so important i think sometimes to listen to people, to listen to nature, to hear what is being said in any situation and to give ample room for that intuitive understanding to grow, so that in life we can react more precisely and humanely to people, to do as little harm as possible, and to help as much as we can. And to wait upon each other as Christ did for us.

(excerpted from WWJD series title To Rise Above Stress, by Daniel D Grippo)