Living the Moment to the Fullest
Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.
—CS Lewis
In his book Here and Now, Henri Nouwen shares a wide range of experiences and points with bracing honesty to the spiritual lesson in the situation and the opportunity we have to see God show up, present in the moment. In today’s reading, he gives us a parallel thought to ponder—patience is required to be fully present and to fully experience God in the situation. Patience comes from the word patior, which means “to suffer.” Jesus promises suffering in this life: “I tell you . . . you will be weeping and wailing . . . and you will be sorrowful.” But he likens these experiences to birth pains. And so, what seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; what seems a stumbling block becomes a cornerstone. Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart. To wait patiently, therefore, means to allow our weeping and wailing to become the purifying preparation by which we are made ready to receive the joy that is promised to us. Let us pray the prayer Nouwen offers, may we “be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.” —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics