Answers Will Come

Answers Will Come

There are times in this life when we really don't understand why things happen.

We wonder why this happened now,

why this happened to me,

why this happened at all .

I don't like the feeling that I don't know why. It's a squirming, twisting kind of thing. It is very uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.

Answers to questions like these are funny things. Answers answer to no man (or woman). They come on their own terms, when they are ready.

It is better for me to shift my focus when I start to feel the squirming. Knowing what I do about how answers work, it is best for me to release my need to know for the time being. I open my heart and mind, I open my mouth in prayer and simply let go of that control. It is in God's hands.
The answers, the outcome...all of it.

There are more productive things I can do in the meantime. Waiting is extremely hard for most of us, but filling that waiting period with meaningful things and thoughts and people can certainly ease the discomfort.

It means stepping out of my own head for a moment..sometimes it's only possible to do that for brief periods of time. For example, in the case of grief, it is important to be with the feeling in order to process it completely. We can't ignore it or it goes underground only to surface later on in the form of depression or some kind of illness. However, we are allowed, even encouraged, to take a break and step out of ourselves briefly to see something good in this day, something beautiful in the people around us, some project or activity or holiday we can look forward to. And there are cases when we can see that another person's pain is deeper than our own so we are able to offer comfort to them.

Waiting is a time for reflection, recovery and growth. Answers will come. All in good time.

Sometimes it is not as important to know why or to know when as to know who.
When things happen to us, the who is always us.

Though I have no control over what others think, feel, say or do I am the one who can choose how I will react to what happens. I am the who. (No, not Dr. Seuss' "Who" ;-) I will shift my focus and ask myself, "What's good about this? What could be good about this? What can I do differently as a result of this? In what ways will I be a stronger, better (you insert the adjective here) person in spite of this?"

These are the kind of questions that produce helpful and, very often, quick answers. Like Mimi's Peace Globes congregating outside her door, you'll have answers lining up to reveal themselves to you. A brainstorm of answers.

I promise, the answers will come, whether it's instantly or down the road.
The answers are on their way.
Rest...assured.