Time Is Ticking Away

Have you ever had someone say one of these phrases to you? “Maybe it wasn’t God’s timing.” “All in good time.” “God has a plan for you.” “Be patient, God has a plan for you.”

These are common phrases people use to try to console or advise one another in times of grief, disappointment, or painful life circumstances. With the best of intentions we often fall back on hollow phrases in an attempt to makes sense of or to understand the chaos and pain.

Recently I was informed by a committee with authority over me that I needed to be patient and wait. To trust that those people who had made the guidelines were wise people and made the regulations for a reason. My request to move up the timeline was denied on the basis of precedent.

The truth is that I generally agree with the principal of this argument. In a world which everything moves at a break neck speed it’s vital that we learn to slow down. We need to slow down and patiently participate in the good work around us.

Despite the principal of the argument being sound, I disagree with this specific decision for the same reason which nobody finds the above phrases to be helpful in a time of distress. Too often we human beings choose to hide behind precedent or hollow phrases, both of which are often excuses we hide behind due to busyness, exhaustion, distraction, or a lack of care.

Hopefully when I am in a position of life where I am in need of support from a sister or brother who is willing to be a human being, I will find myself in the presence of a human being who avoids using one of the above statements or something of the like. I also hope they don’t tell me to be patient and wait three years while holding the very life raft I’m in need of at the moment.

As human beings and followers of the one who came to Earth to break nearly every important precedent of his culture, we need to remember to put the needs of our fellow human beings in that moment, ahead of upholding hundreds of years of tradition. It’s a difficult and messy business to walk this line, but avoiding cliché lines is always a great place to start.