Tuesday, Fifth Week of Lent

Patience is Suffering Through the Present

"Patience does not mean passivity.  Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop or the sun to rise.  It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the fullest in order to find there the signs of the one we are waiting for."  Henri Nouwen

I believe that one of the requirements for this kind of patience is an attitude of gratitude.  Think of one or two situations when you were suffering, wondering how long the adversity would continue.  If you are still around, able read this, then clearly the adversity did not defeat you.

Even if you were not patient in that particular situation you can see that in the midst of it there was something life sustaining going on.  You may not have seen the "more" underlying the suffering, but it was there.  And for that, you can be deeply thankful, every day.

Our faith invites us to face our present with a trust that nomatter what is occurring, God is there drawing us toward God's promise that suffering, even death, will not have the final say.  Rooted in that faith we can hope, patiently, for a revelation of God's goodness.

This is true, whether our present suffering is a minor irritation or a major sorrow.

Prayer:  Help me to make all my waiting a waiting for you.