WISHES

PRACTICE: I wish that________.

As I stood, looking out my favorite upstairs window on an early Tuesday morning, the sky was a serene mixture of wispy clouds, stars and faint moonlight. I had just learned some difficult news about a loved one the night before. Looking upon the splendor of the morning sky, I wished that I was a painter. I could have captured the scene on canvas to share with others. Painting is not my gift, so the wish was never going to become reality. The beautiful sky gradually transitioned into something else, but I could still wish. And then I remembered the difficulty facing my loved one and I realized the sky had given a glimpse into understanding the challenges of life.

As my loved one was experiencing pain and suffering, I could wish as much as I wanted that I might capture and hold the pain for her, if only for a moment. I couldn’t. But like the transition of dawn to daylight, her pain was for a moment (although it may have seemed like an eternity) and then it transitioned into something else. Like the sky that I was given to see, I could see her pain and capture it with my eyes and soul. I could hold the memory and pass it on to others as an example of what we are capable of bearing and how we can stand under the weight of challenges.

This is what I choose to believe. My loved one’s pain and the memory of the sky will inform my ability to stand in the face of beauty or battle. It will inform my words when I am faced with encouraging others – the beauty nor the battle last forever.

Two days later, I stood in the same spot. The sky was just as beautiful but totally different. Two days later my loved one had transitioned from life to life eternal.

I can wish with all my might to keep what I have in the moment. I can wish for a magic wand that will allow me to share and or stop someone’s pain. I can wish but those wishes don’t come true. I believe a better use of my time is to be present in the moment whether it is nature or the pain of the loved one. Both are beautiful. Both will change.

Psalm 118:24

PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Wishes can be a prelude to action.