We spend far too much time worrying about temporary things…
Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of waiting with a few different people while their loved ones are undergoing surgery.
This has involved some period in the hospital in waiting rooms around the city. Sometimes, the surgeries have been planned and expected and (relatively) stress free. At other times, the surgeries have been completely unexpected, and the outcomes of the surgery has been something that will be determined after the completion of the task. This can mean that there is no real expected waiting time for surgery to be completed. And instead, there are chances that the surgery will extend and go over time or be much shorter than anticipated. During the period of waiting, the most important thing is to try to keep busy and distracted so that we can wait as patiently as possible for news about what is going to happen and how things went and what the next steps may be.
Sometimes, people wait quietly and without being able to eat or drink, just perched on the side of their chair and waiting to hear the news. At other times, people leave the hospital and go home to wait for a phone call to notify them that everything is over with and that their loved one is waking up in Recovery and will soon be well enough to see them. And sometimes, there is a combination of both – waiting with company in the hospital until they hear some news about their loved one.
I have been thinking about that today because that waiting in the hospital reminds me of waiting on Earth for eternal life in Heaven. But it seems to me that we spend far more time worrying about temporary things – like hospitals and doctors and illnesses (and even physical death) and certainly not enough time thinking about what really matters – which is our eternal life.
And yet there are so many distractions… We are worried about so many other things… The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the people we speak to, the illnesses we have. We distract ourselves with other things – I certainly do – cleaning the house and cooking and speaking to friends and work. And this is not to say that any of these things are bad – they are certainly not bad at all – but it is to say that they need to be kept in their rightful place. And their rightful place is not front and centre of my life. Their rightful place is somewhere lower down in the pecking order, where they can be overwhelmed by something different – by God Himself.
For the differences between God and humankind are so profound that I do not dare to speak out on the topic at all. And yet, there we sit inside hospitals, worrying about what will happen to our physical bodies, and barely flickering a glance towards our immortal souls…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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