The construction wall has been in place for more than six years. Large sections have been replaced, some multiple times. There is an exception, a door to who knows where. I am not sure why I did not notice it before. This afternoon, the temporary fix to give someone access stood out as tattered, maybe functional, and with the materials at hand. It may not work now. If it did work in the past, it is still not a given that it will in the future.
I walked on, listening to lesson whispers as I considered what was coming.
Just because something worked in the past does not mean it will in the present. The temporary lock worked at least once. If I wanted to enter now, I needed to be open, ready, and willing to embrace a new solution. Someone had already missed an opportunity to fix the lock. As I thought of proactive and reactive responses, I considered history and divine action; “That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ: You don’t want sacrifices and offerings year after year; you’ve prepared a body for me for a sacrifice.” (Hebrews 10.5) A permanent solution as an answer to the temporary.
When the past is incomplete, it is an opportunity in the present. Incomplete conversations are new opportunities for dialogue. Going separate ways can open possibilities for collaboration. Learning and growing are ways of caring to make a difference in what is now. I look back with an awareness of my sadness linked to missed opportunities. I can feel and see the invitation born in the lessons from when I failed to change my approach and response to the moment I have now.
Everything can help one grow. Celebrations, experiences, and loss are food for my soul. My heart is being fed in times of happiness as well as tears. Each morsel is a doorway to developing compassion, kindness, and care that, at least in my dreams, become who I am. What follows will be the measure of my life.
