I am writing this while shut down by the Christmas freeze and blizzard. Like the shelter in place of the pandemic, being stranded because of weather is frustrating and advantageous.
Frustrating because you are stuck and cannot go where you want to go; advantageous because you have time and opportunity to do things around the house that you normally wouldn’t get done. Finally, you have the chance to simply be quiet, read, reflect and pray.
It enabled me, in the middle of winter, to reflect on the difference of not merely surviving, but thriving. What’s the recipe for this. What follows is a kind of examination of life I came to for myself, and I offer it to you.
Lord, what can life legitimately keep asking of me—and me of myself and of life—when there is really no demand that I obey the morning alarm clock?
Lord, encourage me to be more readily forgiving, not just of other, but myself.
Lord, help me to firm up my patience with imperfection now that it is more difficult to avoid.
Lord, remind me that those who serve me (at check-out, driving the bus, taking a restaurant order, et.) have bad days, too.
Lord, allow me a reasoned opinion without becoming opinion-bound.
Lord, remind me that you had a reason for creating things that eventually wear out.
When circumstances beyond my control force me into isolation and quiet – there is something to learn, if I have the courage to be quiet and let my heart do the talking.
Fr. Steve Adrian
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