Beholding

Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. - Henri Nouwen 

I don't like to wait.  

When I am de-planing after a flight, I am always prepared to leave--my bags are gathered, belongings secured and I'm poised to move.  

Alas, not everyone has the same philosophy about getting off an airplane that I do.  

I've discovered that the majority of people de-planing on the flights I've taken seem to act as though they've never done it before.  They arise from their seats bewildered, confused and lacking the memory of where they left their luggage (most likely directly above their heads).  

It's maddening.  

My wife tells me that I should work on being less impatient.  I know she's right.  It's justs that I can't stand how long it takes to learn patience!  I'm only half joking about that last bit.  

I recently read that one way to look at the story of Adam and Eve was through the lens of their impatience.  They didn't want to wait until they could be guided toward wisdom and knowledge by God, so they took matters into their own hands.  

And so we have all been doing the same thing ever since.  Because impatience happens when there is a lack of control.  

Richard Rohr writes that the reason so many of the moments in the Bible where people encounter the Divine presence begins with the word "Behold!" is because God was trying to shock and jar people out of their need for control.  

Rohr writes: 

"Beholding" happens when you stop trying to "hold" and allow yourself to "be held" by the other. 

May you be blessed with moments today and every day when you are jolted out of your own need for control and let yourself be held in peace and hope in the loving, perfect plans of God.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.