Ask

Perhaps what some of us are being asked for is to walk forward, one step at a time, trusting in God to light the way and knowing that really – really really – they have no ability to do anything other than trust and wait…

Madonna and Child (Duccio di Buoninsegna)

The other day, someone who is very dear to me was told by a doctor that her child would need to undergo some testing that would involve a procedure in hospital.

This was not the first procedure that this child was being asked to undergo.  From the moment of her birth she had experienced a range of health-rated episodes due to a condition that she had been born with.

I have been reflecting on this situation over the last few days.  You see, it is not that I am overly concerned for this child or her parents.  I know that our ultimate goal is Heaven and no matter how difficult the challenge in front of us God is turning ALL THINGS to the GOOD.  It is rather that the experience of this child and of her parents and family is that they are being asked – during this lifetime – to trust in God.

This is a very significant thing.

You see, when I want to achieve something in my life I simply apply myself to it and I find – through the Grace, blessings and gifts that God has bestowed on me – that I am very rarely in a position where a bit of hard work cannot help me to achieve my goal.

However, in this very special case, of a child with a medical issue, there is really not very much that can be done to improve the situation.  Rather, that child and her parents are being asked to trust in God in a way that allows Him to guide all parts of her journey.

She is unable to make decisions that will help things to be better.  Sometimes it is a matter of waiting patently for something to change or something to be uncovered.  The situation is quite simply that there is a known problem.  It is a serious problem.  And the medical team and simply waiting for the optimal time to become involved in this child’s care directly.  Mostly they are spending months and years observing and trying to plan out the best possible time to make an effort to work on the medical issue.

This is often the case when the issue is very big or unmanageable.  It is the case when the dangers of operating on a particular problem are so great that surgery is literally the last resort and it would be more safe to wait and see if things resolve on their own instead.

And I have found that the more I reflect on this particular case, the more I have come to realise that perhaps the result is not what some people are asked to deliver to God.  Perhaps what some of us are being asked for is to walk forward, one step at a time, trusting in God to light the way and knowing that really – really really – they have no ability to do anything other than trust and wait…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.