The Gift of the Moment

I was talking to a member on the phone yesterday. She had surgery recently, and is now dealing with a painful, annoying complication. She said she kept praying for God to take away the pain and help her get beyond this. I asked her what there is for her to learn in this. That slowed her down and got her thinking. By the end of our conversation, she expressed regret that she'd waited so long to call me.

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The conversation made me start pondering the number of times we miss the gift/lesson of the moment because we're in such a hurry to move beyond it. Since the end of January I've been anxiously awaiting the day when this round of bed wetting is over. Yet what have I learned in it? I've been reminded, again, that I cannot control Daughter. She is going to make decisions that are bad for her and annoying for me, and I can't stop it. I have been reminded, again, that she is not her behavior. I love her-- even when she's wetting the bed every night.

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I think about this long wait for a call to a new position. What have I learned in this time of waiting? I have learned to live in expectation while being present in the moment. While I wait, I need to be present and engaged in ministry with these people at this time. I need to continued to learn the lessons there are for me here, even though I know that I may not be here for all the plans that are currently being made. I have 2 weddings on the calendar that I hope will be done by someone else following my departure. For now, though, I am here and will engage with these people in their plans.

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I continue to learn how to juggle multiple priorities. Today I moved Daughter's appointment with Psychiatrist. I can do PT and get my stomach scoped on Monday, but then going 50 miles to Big City for Psychiatrist would be too much. She's not going to make any changes while Daughter is stressed out because of the impending oral surgery, anyway.

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I am learning how to plan for continuity if I get called away. I am teaching a course on Revelation at a conference soon. I'm preparing it in such a way that someone else can step in to teach it if Daughter stages a crisis to pull me away from the course.

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Too often we endure our lives while we wait for the thing that is going to make life perfect. I hope that the woman I spoke with yesterday is experiencing the gift of the moment. My words to her have certainly been cause for fruitful reflection in my life. That's the way ministry works sometimes.