Oh it is the season. The season where everyone gets sick. I am now on my fourth day of the flu, and it has not been fun. Having gone now to two doctors who have told me there is nothing they can do, I am frustrated. Why is there no instant fix? I need to be a person again! Why can’t they understand that I have things I need to do!
Gee….I am sure God feels the way our doctors often do. They understand our struggles, but they also understand there is no instant fix. My body needs time to heal, and I know it will. My frustration at the doctors is really about my inability to be patient (or even be a good patient).
God’s timing is similar. As I whine and fuss at God for not healing me faster, maybe there is a lesson here. Not my time, but Gods. It doesn’t matter that I want something now. We all want something from God right now.
Life brings us unexpected turns. Life happens. It is easy to blame God, and get mad when he doesn’t miraculously solve all of our problems. But then again, God is like a parent. What good would it have done us if our parents had done everything for us? We would never have learned.
I know Eventually I will feel better. I know that in my temporary suffering, it is not my fault, nor is it God’s fault. Perhaps it is to teach me to listen to my body, or to take time for myself. Too often I see particularly clergy members not take care of themselves for the sake of others. Perhaps this is a lesson we can all learn from. There is no shame in saying that you need to rest. There is also no blaming God when things don’t go our way. After all, it is not our life to control. For once we place our lives in God’s hands, everything will always work out in the end. Even if we have no idea what God is doing in the mean time. And most especially when we have no idea what the end really is.
Amen.